A 200 level Computer Science student of Caleb University and another suspected member of his gang were busted after their botched attempt to snatch a car from an Uber driver in Ikorodu area of Lagos .
One of the suspects was discovered to be son of a serving Local Government Chairman in Lagos .
The suspects: Gideon Bamidele (19) and Hafeez Anifowose, (20) as gathered, boarded the Uber cab, a Toyota Corolla car with plate number KJA 911 EG, at the early hours of Monday , in Surulere, heading towards Agric, Ikorodu.
However, on reaching Itowolo bridge , one of the suspects according to the UBER driver, Mr Otun Olugbenga, “
grabbed me by the neck pointing a gun at me. He ordered me to leave the steering. When I refused, they started struggling the steering with me . I started shouting for help, on sighting a police vehicle stationed afar , on the other side of the road. In the process, the vehicle skidded off the road and somersaulted severally before it stopped .At that point, I lost consciously briefly.”
Meanwhile, policemen at the nearby pin-down-point who raced to the scene with the intention to rescue occupants of the vehicle, became curious after Bamidele and Anifowose who crawled out of the vehicle were spotted with a gun. They ( suspects ) reportedly took to their heels on sighting the policemen approaching. While some of the policemen gave the fleeing suspects a hot pursuit, the rest rescued the driver.
Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Imohimi Edgal who confirmed the arrest, disclosed that when the suspects were caught, they were discovered to be with a toy gun.
Speaking to reporters,Bamidele blamed his indulgence on what he described as his parents uncaring attitude. He said :
“ I blame my father for this. He abandoned me and refused to pay my school fees, not because he didn’t have the money but because he said I was wayward. Immediately my mum traveled to the UK, my dad said he was no longer interested in my schooling, just because he caught me smoking one day and concluded that he would no longer waste his money on me anymore. He is the Chairman of a local government and can not deny he does not have money . Our aim was to snatch the vehicle and sell it. I intended to use my share of the loot to settle my school fees. Take my father’s telephone number , call him to come and see me in the situation he has put me”, he said in tears.
The suspects according to Edgal would be charged to court, even as he explained that being caught with a toy gun would not douse the charges , saying they would be charged same way an armed robbery suspect with a real gun would.
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
