A robbery suspect, Yusuf Lameed, has lamented the hardship they are now facing following the state government’s ban on the operation of commercial motorcycles, Okada, in some areas of the metropolis.
The suspect was arrested at the weekend by operatives of the Lagos State taskforce while he and two others had attempted to rob a woman at Ikeja by a bus stop around 5am.
The woman was waiting to board a commercial bus when she was attacked by Yusuf and his gang.
Recall that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had, in 2022, banned commercial motorcycle operations in some local government areas and local council development areas after an engineer was murdered by some riders in the Lekki area of Lagos.
In his confessional statement, the suspect alleged that his other gang members, Tribunal and Abbey of Mushin, had been in the business for over six months.
According to him, the ban on the operation of Okada in the state had made the business a lot more difficult, but that they still operated at intervals to steal phones, which they sold in Mushin.
“Our buyers are popularly known as Segun Scatter, Steven Memory, Kalimantan and Ejo. They are based in Mushin. We usually make enough money robbing people while riding our bike.
“But it is now difficult since the state government restricted activities of Okada in some areas. This has also restricted our movement,” he added.
The chairman of the state taskforce, Shola Jejeloye, who confirmed the arrest, said Yusuf Lameed, and his three-man gang members are specialists in robbing members of the public in the early hours of the day across various parts of the state.
He said the suspect was in company of two of his gang members who are currently on the run when they were sighted by the taskforce.
“He was arrested by the taskforce operatives while trying to rob a woman at the bus stop at Ikeja Along waiting for a bus at about 5:30am on Friday.
“The woman, screamed for help when approached by the suspects. It was the scream that alerted the officers on patrol along that axis. It led to a hot pursuit where one of them fell from the bike and was apprehended,” he said.
Speaking on the arrest, the chairman of the agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye, said they would do all within their power to ensure that crime was made to unlucrative for anyone still involved in it.
“Crime is not a career. We have made several efforts in the past and will intensify the efforts to ensure criminal elements in the state either flee from here or turn a new leaf.
“We will be all out in 2023 to achieve our mandate of zero tolerance for criminality in the state.”
Jejeloye told miscreants, traffic offenders, environmental offenders, car snatchers, burglars, pickpockets, one-chance operators, etc to have a rethink this year or they would have themselves to blame at the end of the day.
He appealed to residents to report any criminal activities around them to the nearest police station or to the agency.
Jejeloye assured Lagosians that a crack team had been assigned to fish out the other gang members who fled the scene of arrest and also apprehend the buyers of their loot.
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