Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, says he receives about four in-traffic robbery alerts on his Twitter handle every day.
Owoseni, who disclosed this during a chat with our Correspondent on Tuesday, added that the police had arrested 144 suspects as a result of constant raids of bridges and other hideouts of the hoodlums.
The CP said the robbers’ modus operandi included disguising as street traders, adding that motorists in the state must not patronise hawkers at night.
He said, “One of the areas where the government has challenges is the issue of traffic robbery. We will not shy away from the fact that we have had pockets of robberies in traffic in recent times.
“In a day, I receive about four tweets of traffic robbery. I monitor this personally and I give directions and instructions immediately. When I newly came to Lagos, I used to receive about 10 robbery tweets in a day. It is improving now, and it will continue to improve.
“We made arrests in Oworonshoki, Apongbon and Onikan areas last week and there were about 144 suspects. Items recovered from the hoodlums include charms, machetes, locally-made guns and valuables of victims.
“The most recent traffic robbery recorded was carried out by someone selling snacks on the road. So, the message is that motorists should be careful when patronising street traders.”
Owoseni, who noted that the police ban on motorcycles in the state was still in place, said the use of fireworks during festive periods had also been prohibited.
He said, “Our enforcement on the ban on commercial motorcycles is ongoing. The challenge with Lagos is that about 500 new motorcycles enter our roads every day. But the police have not stopped enforcing this law.
“We will also start to enforce the law which states that anyone carrying any object defined by the law as a weapon is arrested and charged to court. Therefore, members of the public must be careful.
“As the end of the year draws near, the police reiterate that there will be no use of fireworks, bangers and items that sound like explosives in any part of the country.”
