The police in Lagos have apprehended a gang of armed robbers that specialises in snatching motorcycles and money from riders at gunpoint.

According to the police, the four-man gang, which has hideouts in the Ishawo and Ijede areas of Ikorodu is led by 24-year-old Oladimeji Orisan, who is also a son of the traditional ruler in Ishawo.

Apart from Orisan, the other suspected robbers, who were arrested by the state Special Anti-Robbery Squad, are Emmanuel Olutade, Lukman Tiamiyu and Wasiu Sikiru.

Our correspondent learnt that the gang had snatched over 30 motorcycles and resold them since they began operations in March 2014.

It was gathered that the suspects, who sometimes posed as passengers, lured commercial motorcyclists in the evening to secluded areas where other gang members were waiting. The bikes and other valuables would subsequently be snatched from the victims at gunpoint

The police said they recovered two pistols and 25 live cartridges from the gang.

It was learnt that the SARS commander, Abba Kyari, who led operatives to Ikorodu, first apprehended 20-year-old Olutade on Saturday, February 28, and the suspect’s confession led to the subsequent arrest of others.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro, the son of the Baale, Orisan, said his father had warned him several times to change his ways but he refused. He added that he started robbing motorcycle riders when he joined a cult while he was a student at a technical college in Ogun State.

He said, “As the second son, my father took good care of me but I dropped out of school in Junior Secondary School 2. I later attended a technical college but joined a cult while in school. I was going out with them to rob and that was where the idea of snatching and reselling motorcycles came.

“I formed my own gang in 2014 when I came back from college. I bought the guns from my cult friends. I belonged to the Eiye confraternity. We went for robberies like twice a week. We have snatched about 30 motorcycles from riders.

“We had a buyer, who we simply called Mallam. He bought most of the bikes at prices ranging from N30, 000 to N70,000. He would usually resell them too. I was arrested by the police in a hideout in Ishawo after they had first apprehended Emmanuel. My father does not know I am into robbery. Any time I did not come home, he would call me and advise me to change my ways but I never listened. I was just stubborn.”

Another suspect, Tiamiyu, from Ibadan, Oyo State, said he was an Indian hemp seller and had also served a jail term in Kirikiri, before he joined the gang.

The 27-year-old suspect said, “I was staying in the Itupate area of Ikorodu where I sold Indian hemp. Deji Baale (Orisan) usually came to my joint to smoke and that was where I met him. He introduced me to the gang and I started going on robbery operations with them.

“Before joining the gang, I had spent two years at the Kirikiri Medium Prisons from 2009 to 2011. I went with this gang on three occasions, and we also used my place as a hideout.”

The police revealed that four of the stolen motorcycles had been recovered from the gang while the Baale in Ishawo had also disowned the suspect and refused to visit him.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said he would get back to our correspondent on the matter, but he had yet to do so as of press time.