Two suspected armed robbers were killed during a gun duel with operatives of the Lagos State Police Command in the Ijora-Badia area of Lagos, as the command said it arrested 80 suspects in various operations across the state in the first days of October.

The Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai, disclosed this yesterday while briefing journalists at the command headquarters in GRA, Ikeja.
 
He said the arrests and recoveries were recorded in operations targeting armed robbery, vandalism, traffic robbery, public disturbances and other criminal activities.
 
According to him, the command recovered six vehicles, four Beretta pistols, eight locally made pistols, four live 9mm rounds, seven vehicle number plates, six mobile phones, vandalised iron materials and electrical wires, six battle axes, four cutlasses, one toy gun and five sacks of suspected illicit drugs.
 
Fatai said operatives of the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit, acting on intelligence, traced a suspected robbery gang to its hideout along Gasikia Road, Ijora-Badia, at about 10:00p.m. on October 4.
 
He said the suspects allegedly opened fire on the operatives, leading to a gun battle in which two suspects were killed, one escaped, while another, 26-year-old Patrick Azure, was arrested.
 
Two Beretta pistols and four rounds of live 9mm ammunition were recovered from the scene.
 
The commissioner said preliminary investigation indicated that the gang was allegedly preparing to carry out a robbery before the police intervention.
 
In another operation, nine suspects were arrested for alleged vandalism along the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road. They were identified as Mustapha Salisu, 28; Chidi Emmanuel, 35; Joseph Johnson, 24; Samuel Kingsley, 36; Fredrick Mathew, 27; Abdulazeez Mubarak, 25; Chibuzor Odira, 26; Abraham Ofiegede, 57; and Salisu Saleh, 31.
 
Iron materials and electrical wires were recovered from them.
 
The command also arrested three suspected armed robbers at different locations in Lagos. They were identified as Chubuzor Anasihwe, 31; Uchena Steven, 26; and Ejike Ani, 31.
 
Fatai said preliminary investigation linked the suspects to alleged robbery operations along the Ife Expressway in Osun State on August 23 and September 30, during which about five vehicles were reportedly stolen and valuables worth about N50 million allegedly taken.

A Toyota van with registration number BDJ 180 AJ, registered in Oyo State, was recovered.

The police also arrested 29 suspects allegedly involved in traffic robbery and the dispossession of motorists and other members of the public along the Lekki-Epe axis.
 
Another 14 suspects were arrested in connection with alleged public nuisance and disturbances in the Maroko area.

The suspects, according to the command, have made statements while investigations continue to establish their individual roles and possible links to other crimes.

Fatai said operatives also arrested 28-year-old Emmanuel Amadi over the alleged robbery and drugging of a woman in an Ikeja apartment.
 
He said the suspect allegedly gave the victim a substance suspected to be a hard drug, mixed with juice, causing her to lose consciousness before taking her three mobile phones.
 
The phones, valued at about N3.02 million, were recovered from the suspect’s residence in Ikeja.

The commissioner said the operations demonstrated the command’s commitment to intelligence-led policing and proactive crime prevention.

“The command will continue to pursue criminal elements, dismantle organised criminal networks and protect critical public infrastructure across the state,” he said.

He also urged the public, community leaders and other stakeholders to continue providing credible information to the police.