Police bust alleged rapists using army uniform to rob

The Lagos State Police Command yesterday paraded two men it arrested who disguised as soldiers to rob and rape women in Oworonshoki and Bariga areas of the state.The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed this while briefing newsmen at the command’s headquarters in Lagos.

She said the police, acting on complaints by some of the victims, cordoned the area, which led to the arrest of the suspects, 26-year-old Joseph Agbo, and 20-year-old Balogun Damilola.

According to Badmos, a 15-year-old girl (name withheld) residing in the area reported to the police that she was a victim.“On August 12, around 8:00a.m., the police at Oworonshoki Division received complaints from one 15-year-old girl who lives at Oworonshoki area that she has been raped.

“She reported that on Thursday around 10:30p.m., she was running an errand along Akerele Street, Oworonshoki, when suddenly the suspects, riding on a motorcycle, accosted her.

“She said the suspects forcefully whisked her away on their motorcycle to Bariga by Murtala Bus Stop and raped her till the early hours of Friday, threatening to kill her if she shouted.

“Following the victim’s report, the Anti-Crime Patrol Policemen from Oworonshoki Division quickly mobilised to the address and in a raid arrested the two men,” she said.
The police recovered a pair of army camouflage uniforms, two berets, two mobile phones and four ATM cards of different banks from the suspects.

“Other items recovered from them are army accoutrements and 17 ID cards bearing different names,” she said, adding that the suspects confessed to impersonation and other crimes in Oworonshoki and Bariga areas.The suspects have been transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad for discreet investigation and subsequent prosecution.