‘One chance’ robbery operator nabbed
A 50-year-old father of four, Matthew Tokeme, who had been using his Sienna bus for ‘one-chance’ operation in Lagos, has been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State police command. The arrest of Tokeme, who hails from Bayelsa State, followed social media outcry over the criminal activities being perpetrated by the suspect and three of his gang members, now at large.
Investigation into the modus operandi of the gang revealed that they always stationed their bus at different bus-stops around Abule-Egba, Ijaiye, Agege and Ikeja, where they pick unsuspecting commuters between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., after which they would drive to a lonely path, and rob the passengers of their valuables.
The suspect yesterday, confessed to the crime. Speaking on how the suspect was arrested, police boss, Hakeem Odumosu, said: “On February 3, at 5:00 a.m., information received from members of the public revealed that some armed robbers were sighted along Agidingbi Road, Ikeja, operating on a Toyota Sienna bus with Reg. No. APP 488 FH, attacking and robbing unsuspecting victims of their valuables.
“This is a Toyota Sienna described by quite a number of victims on several occasions, especially on social media. On the receipt of the information, operatives from Rapid Response Squad (RRS), who have been on the trail of the vehicle and gang swung into action. The vehicle was intercepted and one Matthew Tokeme, who is the leader of the robbery gang and the owner of the vehicle, was arrested. He confessed to being the leader of the one chance robbery gang. Investigation is ongoing to apprehend other gang members at large.”
Making a confessional statement, the suspect claimed his childhood friend based in Germany, had bought him the bus to use for transportation business after his clothing business collapsed. “I used to sell clothes at a supermarket in Abule -Egba. Business got bad and I had to seek help from my friend in Germany.
“It was my friends, Brown Onyewe and Rashidi that introduced me to ‘one -chance’ business. They said I would make more money from the business. We often carry passengers going to Victoria Island from Ijaiye. We would snatch their mobile phones and other valuables when we get too lonely paths. We sold the phones for N5,000 each, and a laptop we had snatched at one of our operations was sold for N20,000. I was however arrested while I was at home.”
On the whereabouts of his other gang members, Tokeme said: “I don’t know where they live. I have never been to their house, as we only spoke on the phone and met at specific bus stops for operation.”
