Christopher Oji
The Lagos State Police Command has rescued a hawker, Ogbodo Chibuike, who was stabbed in the neck by suspected robbers operating on a commercial motorcycle in Ikorodu, Lagos State.
One of the suspects, Rasak, has been arrested while the police are on the trail of the one who escaped.
Also in the police net is an alleged cable thief, who was arrested on Thursday morning.
The suspects were arrested separately by operatives of the Lagos State Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in different parts of the state.
The suspect arrested for stabbing the hawker was apprehended at Ijede Junction, Ikorodu while fleeing the scene of the robbery.
The suspect and his accomplice, Yusuph, had robbed a puff-puff seller around 5am of N20,000 before fleeing. Thereafter, they stabbed their victim twice with dagger when he challenged them.
The suspects, having completed their mission, fled the scene and the victim raised the alarm.
Chibuike said: “Two young men on okada stopped in front of me, saying that they wanted to buy puff-puff around 5am. Because they were of the same age, I didn’t suspect anything. They bought puff puff N200.
“ After collecting the puff-puff, they refused to pay me. When I challenged them, they alighted from the motorcycle, stabbed me and forcefully took my wallet containing N20,000.
“I raised the alarm which attracted people. Because they were on okada, those who came to my aid couldn’t chase them but some RRS officers on patrol chased them and caught up with them at Ijede Junction. One was arrested while one of them escaped.”
Meanwhile, a cable thief, Abah, 32, was arrested almost same time on Mobolaji Johnson Road, Ikeja with the cables concealed inside a wheelbarrow.
The suspect was released from Badagry Prison in December 2018, after being convicted for stealing solar panels.
He told the police that he and two others, now at large, cut the cable from a newly installed transformer in the area.
He said: “We were three. We cut the cable from a transformer. We climbed the electric pole before removing the cables from it.
“I am so unlucky. My accomplices are Godwin and Zuma. We all connived to cut the cables and we wanted to sell them and make something out of it to augment our salaries.”
Speaking on the development, the state Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, directed that all the fleeing suspects should be arrested and their cases transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department ( SCID), Panti, for further investigation.