Operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) successfully apprehended a three-man ‘one chance’ gang at the Jubilee Bridge in the Abule-Egba area of Lagos on Thursday. The notorious ‘one chance’ gangs typically operate by luring unsuspecting passengers into disguised commercial vehicles before robbing or defrauding them.
The arrest was confirmed in a statement released by Adebayo Taofiq, the Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department at LASTMA. According to the statement, the robbers were captured alongside their operational vehicle, a painted ‘T4’ commercial bus bearing the number plate APP 406 YE, at the U-turn area of Abule-Egba.
It was revealed that the LASTMA personnel, in collaboration with the police, managed to arrest two of the robbers, while one of them escaped with a Point of Sale (POS) machine before law enforcement arrived at the scene.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the apprehended individuals were part of a notorious ‘one-chance’ armed robbery gang that had been terrorizing the Abule-Egba and surrounding areas. The suspects were allegedly being pursued by the public after a man was pushed out of their vehicle following a robbery.
The statement emphasized that the two captured suspects were handed over to the police from the Ile-Epo Police Division for further investigations. In response to the incident, LASTMA’s General Manager, Bakare Oki, urged the public to exercise vigilance and refrain from boarding commercial buses by the roadside, commonly known as ‘So-le.’
In a video posted by LASTMA, two of the apprehended robbers, during interrogation, explained their modus operandi. One of them, dressed in a blue shirt, detailed how he pilfers phones from victims’ pockets or bags, while the other, wearing a black top, was identified as the driver of the bus.
This successful operation comes as a stern warning to criminal elements perpetuating ‘one chance’ robberies in Lagos, reflecting the commitment of law enforcement agencies to ensuring the safety and security of the public.
