Three teenagers – Rafiu Adebayo, 19; Taiwo Omotayo, 19; and Korede Asubiojo, 19 – who were taken before a chief magistrate court, Igbosere, Lagos, for abduction, may spend the rest of their lives in prison custody if found guilty of the charges against them.
The accused persons, who were charged with kidnapping and armed robbery, were alleged to be members of a gang of robbers that had been terrorising residents of the Ijora Badia area of Lagos.
The police said operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Adeniji Adele Road, Lagos Island, arrested the accused persons.
The police told the court that on April 14, 2019, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of FSARS, Lagos Island, Mr Kola Kamaldeen, received distress calls from residents of Ijora-Badia that robbers had invaded their community with dangerous weapons.
The police further told the court that following the report, Kamaldeen deployed a crack team led by Superintendent Ibrahim Yusuf to the scene to arrest the suspects.
“On sighting the police team, all the suspects took to their heels but the policemen chased them. The team succeeded in arresting the three men while their colleagues escaped. Items recovered from the suspects were a cutlass, and a Faro phone belonging to one of the victims, Fatimat Ibrahim, a resident of Ijora-Badia, Lagos.
“During investigation, the suspects confessed to the crime but said they did not use guns in their operations; they used only cutlass, knife and iron rods. They also admitted harming any of their victims that refused to surrender their belongings to them on demand,” the police added.
The plea of the accused persons was not taken as the police counsel, Abraham Fadipe, prayed the court to remand them in prison, and adjourned the case till May 25, 2019.
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