An e-hailing driver, Jeremiah Adeniran, has narrated how the hardship induced by the removal of fuel subsidy pushed him into robbing his passengers of their valuables in Lagos State.
Adeniran, who claimed to be a graduate of accounting from the North American University, said he usually connived with two yet-to-be-identified friends to perpetrate the crime.
Speaking during a parade of suspects at the police command headquarters in the Ikeja area of the state on Friday, the e-hailing driver said he had made a total of N700,000 from the illegal operations.
He said he was arrested in the Ikotun area of the state after his last operation, adding that he and his accomplices usually targeted female passengers.
Adeniran said, “When I get a man, I will decline the ride. I started this last month and my first operation was on July 28. But I did two other operations this month and I was caught last Friday at Ikotun after I picked up a lady along Ijegun Road a few minutes after 1am.
“She was going to the New Afrikan Shrine. Immediately, I picked her up, I already told my two friends to stay by the road since I knew where she was going. So, I picked both of them and they started the operation with the lady.
“How I was arrested was that the phone we collected was with one of my friends and immediately I entered a shop in Ikotun, I saw the lady I picked up on Friday night and instantly she recognised me and I was arrested and taken to Ikotun Police Station.”
Adeniran, who said he and his accomplices had robbed no fewer than four victims, urged youths in the country to be patient with earning money legitimate.
He said, “This is not a good place for a responsible child to be. It was not the government. Before I was doing my normal e-hailing ride and then I could do 15 trips every day and would cash out well but because of fuel subsidy and all, the work is not just going well any longer.
“From the onset, it wasn’t my plan to do this. But I do not have a choice as of then. During the fuel subsidy, I have been complaining and really wanted to stop this and was already compiling my CV. I am married with a child.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, while parading Adeniran alongside other suspects, on behalf of the state Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, said efforts were on to arrest the fleeing accomplices.
He also noted that Adeniran was arrested while attempting to sell the robbed items at the BRT Market in Ikotun, adding that his operational Toyota Camry Saloon car and a knife were recovered from him.
Similarly, Hundeyin also paraded three suspects, Igboro Rasheed, 39; Rasak Adeleke, 30, and Moses Victor, 23, in connection with the killing of an Inspector, Sunday Apochi, attached to the Zone 2 Command, Onikan, Lagos State.
“The fact of the case is that on July 23, 2023, around 8.30pm, the suspects being members of the Aiye Confraternity led by one Sulaimon Abbas, during a fight, shot the deceased with a locally-made rifle and thereafter used a battle axe on him before he died,” he said.
Hundeyin also paraded a truck driver, Samson Olusegun, and three other suspects, Jimoh Iyanu, Opeyemi Akinloye, and Hazimi Abdulakeem, for stealing goods worth N60m.
He explained that Olusegun was assigned to convey the 1/40ft container with identity no. ACLU-9651677, loaded with 1,040 bags of blended solid milk ‘Powder Milk’ worth about N60,000,000 from Apapa Tincan Wharf to the FRIESLAND CAMPINA, WAMCO PLC, on 7B ACME Road, Ogba Industrial Estate, Ikeja, Lagos.
“However, Samson Olusegun conspired with his cohorts and diverted the truck with the goods to Coker Bus Stop along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, where Opeyemi Akinloye, Jimoh Iyanu, and others trans-loaded the goods to another truck, and thereafter sold 491 bags of Powdered Milk worth N36,700,000.00 to one Hazimi Abdulakeem, 47,” the PPRO said.
Hundeyin who noted that Owohunwa launched Operation Flush to tackle pockets of crime that were resurfacing in parts of the state, said on August 2, 2023, around 9.30pm, a joint operation was carried out by operatives of the Isheri Division and Area H Command to raid drug joints at Isheri north.
He said five suspects were arrested and several wraps of substance suspected to be Indian hemp and other illicit drugs such as codeine, colorado, and loud, were recovered, adding that the suspects would be charged to court for onward prosecution.
Other suspects including Zarhanu Garba, 39, and Maikusa Mohammed, 42, George Ebukeebuna, 56, Abass Oluwatosin, Babatunde Daniel, Fagboun Idris, Fabian Ndubuisi, 32, Samson Isaac, 37, Wisdom Iwoha, 27, Ebuka Duru, 26, Gbenga Olamide, 38, Olufemi Olanrewaju, 40, Christian Oramuru, 31, Philip Samson, 40, Adeniyi Adeleke, 29, were paraded.
