The Police in Lagos State on Thursday announced the death of a suspected armed robber, who was versed in the use of explosives.
He was simply known as Chimaobi.
The arrest of the suspect (names withheld) followed the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State robbery of March 13, where seven suspected armed robbers were arrested and five AK 47 rifles, as well as some explosives, were recovered.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, told NAN in Lagos that two undercover police personnel from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad were immediately deployed to Kwara State, as part of the ongoing investigation.
According to Manko, the team eventually arrested one of the suspected robbers, who took part in the Ikeja Airport robbery, in Kwara State on April 12, and that the SARS team sent to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, also traced the house of the explosive expert.
Manko said that the suspect was instrumental to various robberies, to the extent that no robbery would take place without him being hired by all the robbers operating in the South-West.
He said that the suspect had participated in all the bank robberies in the South-West, which involved the use of explosives.
“After tracing his house, the SARS team laid ambush for 72 hours before arresting him,” he said, adding: “During his arrest, the hefty robber snatched the pistol of one of the SARS men that was putting handcuffs on him.
“The team leader, who is an experienced officer, had already adopted good a position, knowing the type of person they were arresting, immediately shot at his legs and he died on the way to the hospital,” Manko said.
The police chief said that the suspect’s death was a big achievement in the South-West because of his competence in explosives.
“He was prominent in the CCTV footage of the First Bank robbery at Sare, Kwara, on September 19, 2012; the January 2013 robberies at First Bank and Wema Bank In Osun; and the recent First Bank and Union Bank robberies in Kwara,” Manko added.
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