Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command a bolt driver, Adeniran Jeremiah over alleged armed robbery and blamed the increase in fuel pump price caused by the removal of Fuel Subsidy to is actions.
According to the Command, Jeremiah was arrested for leading a three man gang who specialises in robbing night crawlers especially women.
The suspect, the Police said robbed a lady who was on her way to the popular fela shrine but luck ran against the bolt driver when he was recognise by the lady he robbed at a supermarket where he went to buy something and she raised the alarm.
Police Public Relation Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin who addressed journalists, paraded the suspect among other suspects at the Command headquarters, Ikeja.
Hundeyin, a Superintendent of Police said the suspect was arrested 17th after a lady who booked a ride from him at Ikotun after a while the driver said he had a flat tyre and said he wanted to fix it.
According to him, the driver parked where is gang hide, immediately he parked is gang members came out from where there hideout and at that point the passenger never knew the driver of the ride was part of the gang.
In his words, the driver and the passenger were forced to go to the back sit of the vehicle and one of the gang took over the vehicle. When they now got to their hideout the driver then came out and show is face and even threatening to stab the lady if she didn't gave up her things.
Hundeyin said the victim phone and other valuables were collected from her, saying the suspect claimed that is what they do every day for a living."
He, however, warned passengers to be careful of the kind of vehicle they board at night, while the suspect would be charged to court after completion of investigation.
The suspect speaks to newsmen, saying: " I am a graduate of accounting student from a University in Republic of Benin. I took to bolt driving because of lack of jobs but I was able to take care of my bills, until the recent removal of the Fuel Subsidy by the federal government.
"After things became hard and unbearable for me, so I decided to join another company called Rider. Thinking I would get relief from the rider company, yet increase in fuel pump price didn't allow me to make profit from the rider company.
"It was then I started thinking of different business to alleviate my suffering so devil sold the idea of robbing passengers into my mind I then contacted two of my friends who aligned with me in the plan.
"We then strategies on how to carry out our operation, my gang members will pose as passengers in the vehicle while I pretend as if I don't know them. So when we arrived to a lonely place I will pretend I had a flat tyre to the passenger, so when I tried to check the tyre my guys would had been hiding would come out and threatened me with arms and order me to go to the back of the vehicle and still did same to our victim.
"If any of the victims tried to resist I would then join hands to deal with such a victim to succumb to us, we started robbery operation one month ago and we have made up to N 2. 10million and we have also shared N 700,000 each.
"We don't robbed any how person we see on the road, we size up our target and the most valnurable are mostly ladies who visits clubs at night. We will collect their money, phones and other valuables.
"On the fateful day I was arrested I narrowly escaped been lynch if not for the divine intervention of good Nigerians who pleaded I should be handed over to the police. I went to do shopping in a mini supermarket in Ikotun where a female victim we had robbed recognized me and raises the alarm that I was among those who robbed her. I was not in mask during the robbery operation so she recognized me and I couldn't deny her. I was immediately taken to the police station.
"My regret is that I was not patient enough as I was on the fast lane to beat the economic hardship imposed on us by the fuel subsidy removal. My advice to the youths is that they should be patient in whatever they do so as not to go astray. but to be candid taxi drivers, especially Uber, Bolt and Riders are not finding the fuel subsidy removal funny as we don't make gains as we used to make it and we also cannot take care of our daily needs anymore."
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