Again, Robbers Raid Ikorodu Banks Despite Police Dragnet-By Chiemelie Ezeobi

 Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Solomon Arase

• Man arrested for taking picture of bribery scene

Despite the heavy presence of the police and some men of the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Navy, the notorious armed robbery gang terrorising the Ikorodu area of Lagos struck again on Wednesday, and succeeded in robbing two banks.

After holding the Ebute Road, at the Ogolonto area of Ikorodu hostage for about an hour, and robbing two second generation banks, the armed robbery gang escaped.

Numbering about 10, the heavily armed gang was said to have executed their act in a Gestapo-type operation that saw them cover their targets successfully, aiding their escape.

The attack came exactly three weeks after the armed gang invaded Ikorodu and robbed the First Bank and Wema Bank branches in the neighbourhood, killing two people in the process.

How the robbers succeeded in storming the area Wednesday and robbing the banks of yet-to-be specified amount remains a mystery, going by the fact that the banks are opposite a police station.

Although the policemen from the Ebute Ipakodo police station were on duty, the armed gang held the entire area hostage unchallenged.
Information made available to THISDAY indicated that the police were allegedly aware of the plan to attack some banks by the same robbery gang terrorising the area.

A top police official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said after the robbers struck three weeks ago, they (the police) had succeeded in infiltrating the gang and may have been aware that they planned to strike again.

The source said that there were already plans to move in and arrest the suspects when they launched yet another attack on the two banks on Wednesday.

The source said: “After the first attack, which was quite devastating, the men of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) were detailed to investigate the matter and unearth them.

“True to type, they made great inroads into arresting them because of the insider information they were ferreting from a source.

“What we knew was that after the attack, this set of armed robbers usually escape by boats to their hideout in the swamps and thistles of Ikorodu.

“From the information at our disposal, we knew they were planning to strike but did not know when. Our plan was that we would arrest them before they did so, but unfortunately they struck again before we could act.”

Wednesday’s robbery attack, which began at 8.30 am, saw the heavily armed men storm the bank in their getaway vehicle.
According to an eyewitness report, the gang had tacitly trailed a bullion van carrying money to the bank and robbed it before moving on to the second bank.

The gang attempted to enter the second bank through the thick glass metal detector door but was repelled by the private security men who locked it from inside.

When attempts to break into one of the metal detector doors proved difficult, they shot their way through a second one.

In a fit of rage, they not only shot and cut through the metal detector, they also tore down the windbreaker affixed atop the door and also the wires connecting the alarm system.

After robbing the bank and its customers, their attempt to flee was impeded by the presence of the police from the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and the Ipakodo police station who had arrived at the scene of the robbery.

Thus, a gun duel ensued between the police and the gang, which lasted for over 30 minutes before the gang fled the scene.

The gang was said to have escaped through the lagoon with their loot intact and sped off in high-speed boats through the many canals that dot the Ikorodu area.

As at press time, business activities were gradually resuming in the area although banks remained closed to customers.

Expectedly, the incident worsened the traffic situation in an otherwise traffic-prone area, stretching into kilometres.

The South-west Zonal Public Relations Officer of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, said the gang was able to escape because they used speed boats.

He said: “When we got the alert about the armed robbery attack and their plans to escape in their speed boats, we alerted the marine police.

“The marine police immediately deployed three speed boats but they didn't catch them, as they had already disappeared through the many canals in the lagoon.”

When contacted, the Lagos State Police Spokesperson, Kenneth Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the attack, but said no casualty was recorded.

But despite the police’s inability to arrest the robbers, they were, in an unrelated incident, unusually prompt at arresting a civilian who attempted to take a photograph of a policeman receiving a bribe from a commercial bus driver in the Okota area of Lagos State.

The victim, Ntiedo Thompson, was arrested and detained at the Okota Police station for daring to take a photo shot of the policeman receiving the bribe.

The Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Solomon Arase, had warned policemen on several occasions against demanding or accepting bribes from motorists.

Thompson, who was detained for some hours and his two phones held in custody overnight, only succeeded in recovering them yesterday after the intervention of a human rights activist.

Attempts by THISDAY to help secure his release on Tuesday was unsuccessful.

Although the policemen had initially claimed that the DPO, CSP James Chu, had ordered them to arrest and detain Thompson, it turned out that Chu was not even aware of the incident.

While narrating his ordeal, Thompson said: “I was in a commercial bus when we got to the Okota area, one of the policemen on the road was demanding that our driver give him a bribe.

"I brought out my phone to capture him and they saw me. They dragged me out of the bus and seized the phone I used to take the pictures.

“He said I was placed under arrest but I begged that they should release me, and suggested that they could delete the pictures and return my phone to me, but they refused.

“The next thing, they called the station and a patrol van appeared and they demanded that I boarded the patrol van because the DPO wanted to see me.

“When we got there, they didn't take me to meet the DPO neither did they release me. I was there from 6 pm to 9 pm.

“Afterwards, they asked me to go home and report back by 9am the following day (yesterday). But before I was released, I had to call one of my brothers with my second phone to come and bail me.

“Meanwhile, before I left that night, they also seized the second phone from me and I went home without any phone on me.

“I got there yesterday by 9 am and waited till 2.40 pm before my second phone was released. This was after a human rights activist intervened and asked them to let me go.

“Even at that, the policeman handling my case went to Ikeja to submit my report and so I had to wait till he got back for him to release my phones.”

Although his bail bond was signed by his brother, and he was released on bail, he said his brother was compelled to also pay some money to perfect the bail bond.

Culled from Thisday