MEN of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested 61-year-old blind man Monday Iruanya along with three others for running a robbery gang that specialised in stealing tyres across the state.
In the first such arrest of its kind, Mr Iruanya and his accomplices identified as John Michael, Charles Chinoso and James Francis, were said to have stolen tyres worth N20m (£7,000). They were arrested by police earlier this week and a soldier said to have aided the suspects, is currently being sought too.
According to the police, the tyres were owned by a businessman in Apapa but were stolen from a warehouse and taken to Sagamu in Ogun State, for sale. However, the robbers were intercepted in Ijebu Ode by policemen, who had been on their trail from Lagos.
Apparently, Mr Michael, who acted as the owner of the goods, had approached the blind suspect to help him get an waybill, so the security agents would not question his ownership of the items. Mr Iruanya, who police said was released from the Kirikiri Prison for stealing in 2010, was said to have provided a waybill, which listed the stolen items and the destination, after a promise of N100,000 from the proceeds.
Mr Iruanya said: “I was a transporter and had many cars and was arrested in 2010 for stealing some spare parts but I was later released. I became blind in 2012 and this time around, my friend, Michael, came to me that he needed a waybill.
"I got it at Tincan in Apapa and he promised to give me N100,000 to treat my eyes. He and I were at Sagamu waiting for the truck to arrive when the police arrested us and I did not know the contents of the truck and whether the items were stolen.”
Francis, the driver of the truck said the tarpaulin they used to cover the goods had torn and they were trying to replace it when the police swooped on them at Ijebu Ode. Mr Chinoso, 30, the truck conductor confessed to the crime, saying he was promised N150,000 for his role in it.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command has also arrested 50 persons known as the Awawa Boys, who are said to be a robbery gang which operated mainly around the Agege area of the state. Two of the suspects were female minors and police said the suspects were identified through the special tattoos they had in their hands and faces.
However, one of the suspects, 15-year-old Kafila, said: “I was hawking sachet water in Oshodi on Saturday when I was arrested by the task force men. I live with my grandma in Oshodi. I am not an Awawa member.”
Fatai Owoseni, the Lagos State Police Commissioner, added: “Within a week, operatives of the command arrested 26 robbers and in the course of the encounter with the police, one of them died. About 49 live cartridges and ammunition were recovered and the suspects will be prosecuted."
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