The suspects were arrested at separate locations in Lagos by operatives of the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit following months of investigation.
The Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, disclosed this on Friday, 16 October 2026, saying preliminary investigations linked the suspects to robbery incidents allegedly carried out on 20 August and 20 September 2026.
According to him, the arrests followed a directive by the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to intensify efforts to tackle criminal activities nationwide.
Tijani said the suspects disclosed during interrogation that they had met while serving prison sentences at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos and reunited after their release.
Ani, an indigene of Ebonyi State and a former clothes seller, reportedly attributed his alleged involvement in the robberies to poverty, debts and his mother’s medical expenses.
He said he returned to his village after his release from prison in January 2026 but became frustrated by his inability to raise the ₦800,000 reportedly needed for his mother’s eye surgery and to settle outstanding debts.
Ani claimed he subsequently contacted a former prison acquaintance, identified as Chinedu, who invited him to Lagos and introduced him to other alleged members of the gang.
He alleged that the group initially abandoned an attempted robbery after motorists were alerted to their presence. However, they later returned to the highway and allegedly dispossessed three men assisting occupants of a broken-down vehicle of a Toyota Corolla, mobile phones and cash.
Ani further claimed that the gang later snatched a bus during heavy rainfall and robbed a vehicle belonging to a traditional ruler.
According to him, the monarch and his driver escaped, while the alleged robbers took valuables from the vehicle.
He also claimed that he received only ₦20,000 in two separate payments as his share of the proceeds from one of the operations.
Ani alleged that members of the gang sometimes used sticks wrapped in sellotape and fireworks to imitate firearms during their operations.
Anasihwe, who also previously sold clothes on Lagos Island, said he met Ani in prison while serving a sentence arising from a fight involving two passengers during his time as a commercial motorcyclist.
He said they reunited in Ijora after their release and later participated in a robbery operation.
However, Anasihwe denied involvement in the robbery involving the traditional ruler, claiming that he had already been arrested by the time it occurred.
The police said investigations were ongoing to establish the individual roles of the suspects in the alleged robberies and determine the full extent of their activities.
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