Three suspected members of a robbery gang have confessed to dispossessing a traditional ruler of his crown and other valuables during an operation along the Ife Expressway in Osun State.
The suspects, who were arrested by the police in Lagos, were also linked to the alleged robbery of motorists and the theft of about five vehicles during separate operations on the highway.
The stolen valuables were estimated at approximately N50 million.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai, made the arrests known on Wednesday, while briefing journalists on the command’s operations over the past month.
Police identified the suspects as Chubuzor Anasihwe, 31; Uchenna Steven, 26; and Ejike Ani, 31.
He said operatives of the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit, acting on actionable intelligence, traced and arrested the suspects at two locations in Lagos.
The commissioner of police said preliminary investigations linked the suspects to robbery operations allegedly carried out on August 23 and September 30, 2026, along the Ife Expressway.
Fatai said the police recovered a Toyota van with registration number BDJ 180 AJ, Oyo State, which was allegedly used by the gang.
He added that the suspects had made confessional statements and were assisting the police in efforts to recover the remaining stolen vehicles, arrest other gang members and retrieve the weapons allegedly used during the operations.
But one of the suspects, Ani, claimed that the Oba was not the gang’s intended target.
Ani said the gang waylaid the monarch while returning to Lagos after carrying out another robbery.
Ani said a friend identified as Obinna invited him to participate in the operation after he complained that he was broke.
He said, “It was one of my friends, Obinna, who invited us for the operation. He told us that we were going to snatch vehicles.
“I told him that I was broke and needed money. That was when he told me about the operation, and I agreed.”
Ani also claimed that the gang did not use real firearms during the operation. Instead, he said, the suspects fashioned sticks to resemble guns and wrapped them in cello tape.
He said they were seated at the back of the vehicle while returning to Lagos when Obinna allegedly spotted the monarch’s vehicle.
“We were sitting at the back of the vehicle when Obinna sighted the monarch’s car.
“He was the one who took everything from him. We did not know that he had collected the crown and other valuables. It was later that the police showed us everything,” he said.
The police said investigations were ongoing to arrest other members of the gang and recover the remaining stolen vehicles and alleged weapons.
