Two siblings, Ikenna Onunkwo, 28 and Chinedu Onunkwo, 23, have been arrested by detectives attached to the Lagos State Police Command for using their mother’s car to rob unsuspecting ladies on Lagos Island.
The State Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni, who confirmed the arrest, said the brothers dress up every morning, leaving their home as if they are going to the office.
“Nobody knew they used to go out each morning to rob. In the evening after office hours, the brothers, still using their mother’s Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), would offer to give female commuters at bus stops lift. They would later rob them of their valuables before pushing them out of the car.
“Luck ran out on the two brothers after robbing a lady on November 13, on their way from Lagos Island. The lady was able to get the registration number of the vehicle.
“She reported the incident to the Bar Beach Police Station,” Owoseni added.
The Commissioner stated that through the assistance of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, the vehicle was traced to a mechanic workshop at Surulere area of the metropolis.
“One of the suspects, Ikenna, the eldest, strongly denied that he and his brother were robbers,” Owoseni said.
According to Ikenna, “My brother and I studied at the Pan American University in Cotonou. I went to school to defend my project only for me to receive a phone call from my younger sister in Nigeria that my mother and brother had been arrested for using her jeep to rob. I was asked to return home and come to the police station or my mum would remain in police custody.
“I rushed down to Nigeria and went straight to the station, only for two ladies to appear and pointed at I and my brother.
“They claimed we were the two men that robbed them of their valuables. We were wrongly accused. We don’t know anything about this crime. My brother and I are innocent,” Ikenna pleased.
Chinedu, the younger, recalling how he was arrested, said, “Some detectives came to our house to say that my elder brother was involved in armed robbery. My mother and I were taken to their station.
“When my mother and I got to the station, the ladies who identified my brother as the person who robbed them also accused me of being among the robbers. I denied ever being involved in any robbery operation.
“This vehicle actually belongs to my mother. I don’t drive the jeep. It’s only my elder brother who drives the car,” Chinedu said.
The Commissioner, however, said the suspects would be charged after investigation, urging the general public to learn how to report any complaint to the nearest police station.