The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 36-year-old robbery suspect, Amos Daniel, who stole his employer’s vehicle on the same day he was hired as a driver.
Daniel acknowledged that he had driven the car to his church in order to share the story of God’s tremendous providence.
In a similar case, two ex-soldiers, Abdulau Mohammed and Akeem Suleiman, along with two accomplices who were civilians, were paraded with other suspects due to their involvement in a robbery gang.
According to reports, the gang operated while donning military headgear.
The police retrieved military headgear, uniforms, and identity cards from the discharged soldiers.
Thankgod Kesh-David, a 25-year-old suspect who pretended to be a roadside technician to fix broken-down cars before vanishing with them, was also paraded by the police.
SP Benjamin Hudenyin, the command spokesman, briefed reporters at the Command Headquarters in Ikeja on Tuesday, saying, “We have successfully arrested a robbery gang through our tactical team based in Surulere. The four-man gang specialised in snatching vehicles at gunpoint from motorists in Lagos.
“They have been operating for quite a long time. Two of them are dismissed soldiers; one was dismissed in 2014 and the other in 2017. They carried out their crime wearing full military gear.
“We also have somebody who was employed as a driver. Unfortunately, the employer did not do due diligence. The same day he resumed as a driver, he ran away with the car and could not be traced.
“Interestingly, he dedicated the car in church the following Sunday, testifying of what God had done to him.
Speaking with newsmen, the arrested driver, Daniel, said, “I stole my madam’s Lexus car and took it to the church to testify that God has blessed me. I intended to use it for Uber and use the proceeds to pay my debt. I stole the car on June 23, 2024, the very first day I was employed, and I took it to church on June 30, 2024.”
One of the dismissed soldiers, Akeem Suleiman, who claimed he was dismissed from the Nigerian Army in 2017 for desertion, told reporters, “I started robbery in April 2024. Anytime we steal a car, I drive it to the receiver’s place. We steal cars randomly. If we see anyone parked and wound down, we drag them out and zoom off in the car. We operate in the Ajah area of Lagos with a local gun. But we never killed our victims.”
The Command’s spokesman advised employers to exercise due diligence when hiring drivers or domestic staff and to conduct background checks at the Central Criminal Registry at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, and the forensic unit before employment.
He added that the suspects will be charged in court for their crimes.
The spokesperson for the Police Command recommended employers use caution when employing drivers or domestic helpers and to run background checks at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, and the forensic unit’s Central Criminal Registry before hiring.
The suspects will face legal charges for their offences, he added.
