A PUNCH reporter, Babatunde Titiola, was on Tuesday morning attacked and robbed by ‘one chance’ robbers in a commercial vehicle along the Sagamu end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident occurred at about 6:40 am.
The term, “one chance”, is frequently used in Nigeria to describe a robbery committed by a group of criminals who pick up people who are waiting for a bus or taxi just to rob them.
Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, Babatunde revealed that the fact that there were five of them inside the bus did not raise suspicion that they were armed robbers.
Babatunde noted that he was pushed out of the vehicle while in motion and that all of his possessions, including his wallet, phones, cash, and other valuables, were stolen from him.
He said, “I left my house, and I was on my way to Sagamu. I was at the Magboro bus stop around 6:40. I entered all these normal commercial vehicles. I sat in the front seat. There was a woman inside the bus, and then, we were like five inside the bus.
“All of a sudden, the driver started chanting. I am certain they were not speaking in Yoruba because I would have understood clearly what they were saying. Afterwards, I heard the driver telling them that it did not work. He said he could not take me to the place I was going anymore.
“I can’t remember the place he said he was going to drop me because I am quite familiar with these areas.
“I was not conscious at some point. They pushed me out of the bus while in motion. It was then that I realised that they had stolen my phones, wallet, and money, and I was left with only my hand accessories.”
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Florence Okpe, could not be reached for comments as of the time of filing this report. She did not respond to the calls and message sent to her phone number.
Meanwhile, the officers of the Lagos State Police Force, Ilasan Divisional Police Headquarters, have arrested four ‘one chance’ gang members on Wednesday.
This was confirmed in a statement made on X, formerly Twitter, by the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, on his X page.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the suspects were arrested following a complaint made by a victim who stated that the suspects withdrew a total of N1.4m from her account during a one-chance robbery around the Ilasan area of Lagos.
The statement reads, “Detectives from Ilasan Division have arrested Habeeb Azeez ‘m’ age 29; Michael Adeyeye ‘m’ age 26; Biodun Iyiola ‘m’ age 46; and Adeleye Dotun ‘m’ age 27 in Ijora-Badia following a discreet investigation into a complaint by a victim that the suspects withdrew N1.4 million from her account during a one-chance robbery at Ilasan.”
