By Dipo Olowookere
Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a suspected ATM robber, Gbenga Babatunde, 35, after a failed attempt to rob a lady who had withdrawn an unspecified amount of money at an ATM point in Alaba Rago Market around 5:48am.
The suspect, who had a cut-to-size locally made short gun with two life cartridges on him, was chased and arrested by the RRS operatives patrolling the area, after been contacted by the would-be victim who had escaped from the robbery attempt.
In his confessional statement, Babatunde claimed that he and his accomplice, one Samson Baba Ramadan, 28, who had escaped after the botched operation, had in the past robbed about 35 ATM users in Alaba Rago Market, Ojo area of Lagos before his arrest.
According to him, “I was introduced to the crime by my colleague, Samson Baba Ramadan, who I met at Field Joint, Alaba two years ago and since, we have been working together as a team.”
“We have robbed about 35 people together. We get to the ATM point by 4am and then hide inside the shop beside the ATM point. As soon as the withdrawer collects the money, we will accost him or her and collect the money and escape. The last money we collected was N40,000. Yesterday, we collected N12,500,” he added.
Also recovered from the suspect were: a First Bank Mastercard belonging to one Iweka Christopher Uchenna and a Diamond Bank debit card owned by one Nkechi Esther Idoko.
Spokesperson of police in the state, Superintendent of Police (SP) Dolapo Badmus, who confirmed the arrest, noted that the State Command would leave no stone unturned towards ensuring that suspected criminals are brought to justice.
The case has been transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation and prosecution.
