Three suspected armed robbers have been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command over alleged attacks on motorists along the Ife Expressway in Osun State, with police linking them to the theft of valuables worth about N50m from a monarch.
The suspects, identified as Chubuzor Anasihwe, 31; Uchena Steven, 26; and Ejike Ani, 31, were arrested by operatives of the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit following actionable intelligence.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, disclosed this on Wednesday during a briefing at the command headquarters in Ikeja.
Tijani said preliminary investigations linked the suspects to robbery operations allegedly carried out on August 23 and September 30, 2026, during which about five vehicles were reportedly snatched.
He said one of the stolen vehicles, a Toyota van with registration number BDJ 180 AJ, belonging to Oyo State, had been recovered.
The commissioner added that the suspects had made confessional statements and were assisting investigators in efforts to recover the other stolen vehicles, apprehend other members of the gang and recover weapons allegedly used during the operations.
One of the suspects, Ani, reportedly told investigators that a gang member identified as Obina had taken them to the Ife Road area to snatch vehicles.
According to him, the gang did not initially use firearms but allegedly relied on a stick and cellotape during their operations.
Ani said the gang later encountered the monarch after allegedly snatching a vehicle, adding that Obina took the monarch’s bag and placed it inside the stolen vehicle.
He claimed that the suspects only learnt that the bag belonged to the monarch after their arrest, when police allegedly recovered money belonging to the traditional ruler from the vehicle.
The suspect also alleged that another gang member, identified as Izuna, possessed a locally made explosive device which was reportedly used during one of the operations.
Ani, who said he had previously served a prison sentence, claimed he returned to crime because he needed money to start a business.
He said he had previously dealt in machine spare parts.
Meanwhile, Tijani said the command recorded significant operational successes during the period under review, with 80 suspects arrested or neutralised and several exhibits recovered.
The recovered items, according to the commissioner, included six vehicles, four Beretta pistols, eight locally made pistols, four live 9mm rounds of ammunition, seven vehicle number plates and six mobile phones.
Other exhibits included battle axes, cutlasses, a toy gun, vandalised iron materials and electrical wires, as well as five sacks of suspected illicit drugs.
The police said investigation into the robbery case was continuing, with operatives working to apprehend other members of the gang and recover additional stolen property.