Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command on Sunday foiled an attempt by some robbers to snatch a Toyota Camry and a Toyota Corolla from some motorists on the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the gang, while posing as cops, flagged down the motorists on the expressway.
However, as the drivers stopped, some other members of the four-man gang reportedly emerged from hidding and held the victims hostage. They were about taking the vehicles away when the RRS operatives, who were on patrol, gave them a chase.
The police said the suspects fled into the bush, abandoning the vehicles and a toy gun.
“The robbers fled into the bush and abandoned the victims and one of their improvised guns. They were chased into a bush, but no arrest was made.
“The victims disclosed that two of the robbers posed as policemen before another two, who were lurking in the bush, came out, asking them to surrender their keys. They added that they were going to Epe to celebrate the New Year,” the police said in a statement on Monday.
The Lagos State police spokesperson, SP Chike Oti, reportedly confirmed the incident, adding that the command would intensify patrols along the highways for the safety of residents.
Oti said the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, had ordered that the fleeing robbers be apprehended and brought to justice.