 |
| The suspects |
Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested two suspected robbers for allegedly killing an Uber driver and stealing his Hyundai Elantra car, with number plate EPE 676 EC.
Humble Peter-Robert, 33, and Gideon Archibong, 36, were arrested on Monday, February 4, 2019, at the Aboki Estate, Lekki, Lagos, while reportedly removing the car’s parts for sale to a scrap metal dealer.
The arrest of the suspects followed a directive from the new state Police Commissioner, Zubairu Mu’azu, to the RRS Commander, Olatunji Disu, that the culprits must be fished out and made to face justice.
The police said in a statement on Sunday that Peter-Robert, an ex-convict and a bus conductor, in company with three others now at large, had three days before his arrest conspired to hijack the car and sell it off.
On the said date, Peter-Robert and the fleeing suspects, identified simply as Emma, David and Dolapo, around 11pm, flagged down the vehicle that the deceased, Sunday Obasi, was driving in the Lekki area of the state.
It was gathered that the suspects told the driver that they were going to Ikate and he charged them N1,000.
Before getting to their destination, the suspects reportedly told the driver that they wanted to ease themselves. It was at this point they descended on the driver.
They allegedly killed him and pushed him off the car onto the road before driving the vehicle to Beach Road, Lekki, where they hid it for two days, while looking for a buyer.
Peter-Robert was quoted to have said, “I was sitting in front of the car with the driver. We seized and hit him with stones several times. He complained that he was sick. We pushed him out on the road and went away with the car, a wine Hyundai Elantra.
“At the Beach Road, Lekki, where we parked the car, we swapped the number plate with that of a Volkswagen Passat car, FKJ 708 CA, that was close by. We left it for two days hoping to contact buyers.
“Emma, also an Uber driver, is our ring leader. He noticed that the driver was operating offline before deciding that we should hijack the car. The following day when one of us visited where we had hijacked the car, he noticed the guy’s remains were already in a police body bag.
“We contacted Archibong to assist us to dispose off the car. The buyers we invited indicated that they could only buy the car parts. It was in the process of dismantling the car that the RRS patrol vehicle spotted us and arrested two of us. Emma, Dolapo and David are on the run.”
While commenting on the development, the Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Mu’azu, stated that investigations were continuing on the case.
He noted that the command would leave no stone unturned to ensure that the fleeing suspects were apprehended and made to face justice.
