Christopher Oji

It was harvest of arrest of criminal suspects by the Lagos State Police Command at the weekend.

Among those arrested were two suspected child traffickers, fake Special Anti-Robbery Squad ( SARS) operatives, suspected murderer, cultists, among others.

Giving a breakdown on how the arrests were made, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer , DSP Bala Elkana, said: “On October 31, at about 20:30 hours, acting on information from a credible source, detectives from the Ojo  police division, led by the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Abdullah Malah, arrested Blessing, 30. She was seen along Alaba International Market with two children:   Joshua James, 6, and Samuel Gbawune, 3, trying to board a vehicle to Onitsha, Anambra State. Some passengers who suspected the woman, raised the alarm and the woman was questioned. Blessing  claimed that the boys were adopted by her husband, Chukwunoso, 40, from a motherless baby home in Jos, Plateau State and brought to Lagos.

“She further claimed that she was taking the children to Onitsha to meet her husband. However, on November 1,  at about 7 am, the  said husband was also arrested by the police; during interrogation, the man  confessed that he bought the kids for N140,000 from  Mama Oyoo in Jos. The kids were rescued from the syndicate.”

According to Elkana, the police were making frantic efforts to identify the kids’ parents and reunite them.

“The command calls on motor park operators, unions and well-meaning Nigerians to keep an eye on passengers with kids that appear in a suspicious manner.”

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In another development, Elkana said the police arrested two fake operatives that had been terrorising and extorting money from the citizens, claiming to be from  SARS.

He said CSP Lasisi Iyunade, DPO, Ifako police division led the squad that arrested the suspect . On  October 2, at about 10:00hours, operatives from Ifako police  division led by the DPO , CSP Lasisi Iyunade, accosted two men dressed in black T-shirts with the inscription SARS boldly written on them along Julius Kadri Street, Ifako, Gbagada. They claimed to be SARS operatives on their way to effect an arrest at Bakare Daudu market. On further questioning, they claimed to be members of Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) from Victoria Island.

“Two fake PCRC ID card bearing same name were recovered from them. The suspects were charged to court and remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Home.”

Similarl , Elkana said  that  about 16:30 hours, a team of policemen from Ipaja division led by DPO, CSP Tokumbo Abaniwonda, arrested Daniel, 30 .

“One locally-made pistol with one live ammunition and one expended ammunition were recovered from him. He was arrested while attempting to snatch a bag from a woman at Boys Town, Ipaja. He confessed to the crime. The suspect will be charged to court.”

He said the police also arrested a suspected notorious cultist and vicious killer that had been terrorising Bariga  area of the state.

He said operatives of Operation Crush from Bariga division, in an intelligence-led operation, arrested Odunwole  (aka  Gobe). “He is a factional “Aiye ” confraternity leader in Bariga at Akilo Street Bariga. The suspect has been on the police  watch list  for over a long period of time . He is responsible for a series of violent attacks and killings in Bariga. He will be charged to court soon.”