We Impersonated Soldiers, Policemen, Says Suspect (photo)

Officials of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in Lagos have arrested a gang which specialised in using military and police uniforms to steal motorcycles from riders. A member of the threeman gang, Goodness Allison (31), said that his members used to disguise as policemen and military officers to steal motorcycles from unsuspecting riders. Aside from Allison, other members of the gang are identified simply as Wilson and Northerner. According to Allison, they would first ‘impound’ the motorcycles and later resell them.

The suspect claimed that he became a member of the gang after the fake policeman and soldier arrested him for plying a restricted road. He said: “I was co-opted into the team two weeks ago.

Then, I was arrested at Bucknor at Ejigbo area by Wilson and Northerner on that fateful day around 9:48p.m. They said I took a restricted road. I pleaded with them to let me go but they told me that I was going to take them somewhere. I took them to Ejigbo, where a boy was arrested.

I assisted them to arrest the Hausa boy and we took his motorcycle. I don’t know what they did with the motorcycle, but the following day, they called me and offered me N10,000. It was the same spot where we seized the Hausa boy’s motorcycle, which was my first operation with the gang, that I was arrested.”

Allison confessed that through the ruse, they had been able to steal over seven motorcycles from riders at Ejigbo, Ikotun and Bucknor. According to him, the gang used to operate from 9p.m. to 11p.m.