Ex-Convict Nabbed For Snatching Phone In Lagos

Alleged Suspect,Tunde Ajeigbe

An ex-convict, Tunde Ajeigbe, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly snatching a phone from a passenger in a commercial bus.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Ajeigbe and his gang members, simply identified as Ekene and Bolenbe, who are at large, usually operate on a motorcycle.

It was gathered that Ajeigbe, on the day of the incident, jumped from the motorcycle around the 7UP area and snatched an android phone from a passenger in a commercial bus and fled with his gang members.

Our correspondent learnt that eyewitnesses gave the gang a chase from the 7UP area of the state to the Otedola Bridge and alerted the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad stationed under the bridge.

It was gathered that the suspects abandoned their motorcycle and ran into the bush, but the RRS operatives arrested Ajeigbe, who had been in a correctional facility for pickpocketing and stealing since 2017 and was released in November 2019, while the other gang members escaped.

The 27-year-old Ajeigbe, in his statement to the police, stated that after his release from the correctional facility, he could not locate his properties or his family, hence he went back to crime.

He said, “I was remanded in prison since 2017 and was released on November 19, 2019, but I could not go back to my wife and child. I went back to the house I rented before going to prison but I couldn’t find my properties and my family again, so I went back to the street.

“I went back to under the bridge in Oshodi to join my friends, who gave me clothes to wear and bought food for me before we went back to our usual job. Although after spending some days in Mushin, some of my area brothers, who knew that I just came out of prison, helped me to secure a motorcycle on hire purchase, but that was not enough for me as I wanted to make quick money to be able to go and see my mother in the village after leaving home for three years without seeing her.

“My aged mother will be worried after I left home without returning and no one knew my whereabouts as my wife never informed my family that I had been arrested and remanded in prison. I, therefore, resorted to stealing again to raise some money; unfortunately, I was caught.”

According to the police, a motorcycle with number plate, FST279 QJ, was recovered from the gang, while a manhunt has been launched for the fleeing suspects.

The state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, while reacting to the incident, warned criminals to stay away from the state as the command would not allow any hiding place for them.

He directed that the case be transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad for further investigation.

Source:Punch