The Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) have arrested five cross-border criminals in Lagos, as according to the report, two of the suspects hijacked a Taxify Toyota Corolla Sports in Lekki after ordering a ride online and dispossessing the driver with pepper spray, the other three then sold the car to a dealer in Cotonou the Republic of Benin for the sum of N250,000.
RRS statement narrating the incident by the cross-border criminals said:
“Pepper dem gang: These guys stole a @Boltapp_ngToyota corolla sports car after ordering a ride online and while on the trip, one of them sprayed water mixed with pepper in the eyes of the driver. They Made away with the vehicle and sold it for 250k in Cotonou”
The Police gave the names of the suspected cross-border criminals as Michael Sosa (27), Nelson Benson (24), Idowu Dauda (30), Owolabi Shobayo, a.k.a Daju pa (29) and Biliaminu Abu, a.k.a Gengen (43) were all arrested in Ijoko and Ota, Ogun State last week for hijacking and selling a Taxify car back in February 2019.
The Police from their interrogation also found out that Sosa, in the company of Dosumu, now at large, had sometime in February 2019 converged in Elegushi Beach, Lekki where they both hatched the plan to hijack a Taxify car, move it to Ogun State to sell. Sosa, a suspected ‘yahoo boy’, after waiting till 10:00 p.m. ordered a Taxify ride from Agungi Estate to Lagos Island.
In the car with him were other suspects, identified as Dosumu and Idowu Samuel.
According to Sosa, “At Abraham Adesanya Estate, Lekki, I told the driver I wanted to ease myself. We alighted, while I pretended to be urinating, Dosumu poured dried pepper he was keeping in bottle water he bought in traffic. He allowed the substance to dissolve well.
“We got back into the car. The Taxify driver was about to start the car when Dosumu poured the mixture on the driver’s head. Spontaneously, he screamed and jumped out of the car. He started shouting for help. I got on his seat and drove the car away from the scene.
“I drove to the road leading to Alpha Beach, where we stopped for some hours because we suspected we were being followed. At about 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, I proceeded to Agege via Agidingbi, dropping Dosumu in Omole. I picked Nelson Benson in Agege Stadium. Nelson was to direct us through the routes that prevent us from encountering the police on our way to Ijoko”, he said.
He explained further that:
“It Ijoko, I took the car to Alfa Mouka’s house. He was my spiritualist. I told him the car was stolen. It was at this point we began to source for buyers.
I was introduced to Daju pa and Gengen. The two of them, as I got to know later were dreaded cultists and notorious criminals in the area. Because I was new in the area, I didn’t know them quite well.
The area was supposed to be a hideout for my family and I couldn’t confront the duo. I have been warned that I could be shot there. They took the car from me, by this time, they were already scheming and getting difficult to understand. I told them I wanted to sell the car for N300,000.”
Speaking on the development, the Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu stated that criminals who thought they could escape with their nefarious activities perpetrated in Lagos might need to think twice as the command is at alert and would haunt down any criminal in any part of the country.
The suspects have been transferred to SARS for further investigations.