The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Kayode Aderanti, weekend, said that the command had clue of who the robbers that stormed a second generation bank last Thursday, killing three policemen and a teenager, were, assuring that it would soon round them up.
This is just as the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abbah, has given matching orders to the Police in Lagos to re-strategise, in order to ensure that armed robbers do not unleash terror again in the state.
Investigation as gathered had begun by joint crack detectives from the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS and those from the newly instituted Tactical Operation Unit.
The operatives as gathered would also spread their dragnet to neighbouring Benin Republic where the fleeing armed men were suspected to have taken refuge.
Impeccable police sources hinted that part of the on going investigation included the monitoring of the video footage of the robbery operation recorded by an onlooker.
Aderanti who was at the scene of the robbery incident, described the death of his men as unfortunate, adding that they (policemen ) were not even attached to the bank where the gunmen stormed but acted gallantly to prevent the hoodlums from carrying out their devilish act.
Also reacting to the development, Force Public Relations Officer, Ag. Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Ojukwu told Vanguard; ‘’It’s a terrible development. We will see to the end of it. We must get them. You should know that for a long time we have not had that kind of bank robbery in Lagos State. That is why the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abbah, has given the command matching orders to re-strategise in order to ensure that it does not occur again.’’
However , investigation revealed that the robbery incident was not the first time hoodlums would be terrorising residents of the high brow area.
Before their invasion last Thursday, it was revealed that kidnappers had been on the prowl in Lekki metropolis, with bank staff and construction firm workers as their targets.
The kidnappers as gathered, usually struck when unsuspecting bank staff would be leaving for their places of work.
Recently, a female bank staff was reportedly abducted while on her way to work but was released after payment of an unspecified amount as ransom. Another female of same bank was said to have been at the verge of being abducted last week in same metropolis but for the intervention of his colleagues. The female bank staff(names withheld ) was reportedly waiting for the staff bus when the abductors sprang out from nowhere to forcefully drag her into their waiting van. But just at the same time, the staff bus arrived and her colleagues reportedly raised an alarm which forced the kidnappers to abandon her and zoomed off in their operational vehicle.
But such testimony could not be said of Mr Emmanuel Nduka, a civil engineer whose whereabouts is yet unknown, following his disappearance since February 2, 2015.
His wife , Evelyn who is yet to come to terms with the reality of her husband’s disappearance, explained how he left their Happyland estate in Olokunla area of Lekki, home penultimate Monday , to see an unknown caller who reportedly invited him over .
According to the mother of five : “We were together in my shop where I sell provisions and food stuffs; when he had a call and told me that he was going to Abijo to see someone. Not suspecting anything sinister, I didn’t ask who he was going to meet at Abijo.
“He drove himself in his Honda Odyssey car with Registration number: QZ 143 EKY about 8pm. About 20 minutes later, he called me to say that he has bought the kerosene I asked him to buy and has gotten to the place adding that he would be coming in no distant time. Having waited for a long while and he wasn’t forthcoming, I had to call him only to discover that his phone was switched off and has remained so till now.
“I couldn’t just fathom exactly what was wrong! I became worried what might have happened to him and immediately informed the young brother while I waited till the following morning. Not seeing him, I had to trace the house of one of his friends he usually visited at Abijo. To my surprise, the friend told me he didn’t come to his place. I eventually had to report the matter at the Divisional Headquarters at Ajiwe-Ajah”, she stated.
No cause for alarm - Police
Following cases of kidnap and last Thursday’s bank robbery , residents of the high brow area are gripped with fear of who could be the next victim.
But spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Kenneth Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said there was no cause for alarm as the command had increased visibility along that corridor.
According to him: “The command is alert to its responsibility. It was because of the anticipation of all this that the CP formed a tactical operation unit to interface with the banks. We held meetings with the banks and we have been having some collaboration with them.
”We anticipated that since banks are moving to this corridor, definitely hoodlums will want to torment and because we acted proactive measures that is why we have been able to keep it within this barest minimum.”
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