By Ado Oyeyemi
Three suspected members of a robbery gang accused of attacking motorists along the Ife-Ilesha Expressway in Osun State have narrated how they allegedly met in prison and later teamed up to carry out robbery operations, including an attack on a monarch whose crown and other valuables were reportedly stolen.
The suspects were arrested by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Lagos State Police Command after months of investigation into the gang’s activities.
Two of the suspects, 32-year-old Ejike Ani and Chubuzor Anasihwe, admitted knowing some of the alleged gang members while serving prison terms for separate offences.
Ani, an indigene of Ebonyi State and former clothes seller, attributed his involvement in the alleged robberies to financial hardship and mounting debts, including money his family borrowed to secure legal representation during his imprisonment.
Narrating how he met one of the alleged gang leaders, Ani said they became close while serving their sentences at Kirikiri prison, where the man reportedly helped him with food and other necessities.
Ani said he was imprisoned after being arrested for illegal possession of a firearm in 2021.
According to him, he was accompanying an acquaintance to deliver a message in Ketu when they encountered a police stop-and-search team around Ojota.
He alleged that his companion abandoned a bag containing a gun and fled, leaving him to be arrested.
Ani said he was released in January 2026 and returned to his village, where he found his mother seriously ill and in need of eye surgery reportedly estimated to cost N800,000.
He added that his family was also burdened by debts incurred during his legal battle, leaving him frustrated and desperate for financial assistance.
The suspect said he subsequently contacted an acquaintance he had met in prison and travelled to Lagos after being invited to join him.
According to Ani, he was introduced to other alleged gang members, and they began planning robbery operations along the Ife-Ilesha Expressway.
He claimed that their first attempt failed because motorists had been alerted to the presence of suspected robbers along the road.
Ani further alleged that the gang later returned to the highway and attacked occupants of a broken-down vehicle, dispossessing them of a Toyota Corolla, mobile phones and cash before taking the vehicle to Lagos.
He said he later learnt that one of the alleged gang members had been arrested and fled to Ebonyi State before returning to Lagos weeks later.
Narrating the attack involving the monarch, Ani claimed that the gang encountered a broken-down bus during heavy rainfall before coming across another vehicle occupied by the monarch and his driver.
He alleged that the monarch and his driver escaped, while the gang members took valuables from the vehicle.
Ani said he only learnt during his subsequent arrest that the bag taken during the operation reportedly contained N850,000.
He claimed that his associates denied having the money and sent him N10,000 on two occasions as his share of the proceeds.
The suspect also alleged that the gang sometimes used sticks wrapped with adhesive tape to imitate firearms and fireworks to create the impression of gunshots during their operations.
The second suspect, Anasihwe, admitted that he accompanied some of the alleged gang members on one robbery operation but denied participating in the attack on the monarch.
Anasihwe, a 31-year-old former clothes seller who later became a commercial motorcyclist, said he spent three years in prison between 2023 and 2026 following a dispute with passengers.
He said he met Ani while serving his sentence, adding that they exchanged phone numbers after encountering each other again in the Ijora area of Lagos following their release.
According to him, the renewed contact eventually led to his participation in the gang’s first alleged operation.
He, however, claimed that he was arrested before the subsequent operation took place.
Speaking on the arrests, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, said operatives of the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit apprehended the suspects at two locations in the state.
Tijani said preliminary investigations linked the suspects to alleged robbery incidents on August 20 and September 20, 2026, along the Ife-Ilesha Expressway in Osun State.
He added that about five vehicles were reportedly snatched during the operations, while valuables estimated at approximately N50m were allegedly stolen.
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The police commissioner said the arrests followed the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, for police formations and commands across the country to intensify efforts to apprehend criminal suspects and tackle insecurity.
