A notorious traffic robber in Lagos Toheed Fashola has been shot dead by the Police. Also killed was his unnamed gang member during a shoot out with the police on the equally notorious Lagos/Badagry Expressway.
The road has become a disgrace for some years following the abandonment of the reconstruction work on it. It is now characterized with heavy traffic, extremely bad stretches and most of all, robbery.
This robbery is said to have plagued commuters of that vicinity and have claimed several lives in the last four years.
There are lone robbers and different gangs that operate in the axis. The robbery occurs starting anytime from 8pm to around midnight; and often times, in the early hours of the morning.
The dead suspect who is popularly known as Epo (oil), led the most dreaded traffic robbery gangs. He had for years terrorized commuters of SatelliteTown/Alakija area .
The death of the notorious robber expectedly brought relief to commuters in the area.
Epo alongside another suspected gang member, were killed during the operation, while a third member was arrested after sustaining gunshot injuries.
According to details revealed by the Police, Fashola and his gang usually came from Ajegunle to operate at Satellite Town area, where they usually take advantage of the grown bush in the middle of the Expressway as hideouts.
“They would station their motorcycles at the Orile lane, cross over to the lane designated for Mile commuters, which is usually busy with vehicular movement on a snail pace owing to bad road and long queue of trucks,” revealed a source.
After several complaints by commuters, the Commisioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, CP Zubairu Mauzu, directed his officers to attend to the situation which they did. Some arrests were made and commuters had a break from their horror.
The gang changed tactics and began operating at early hours of the morning and continued dispossessing people of their properties and inflicting pain, both mentally and physically.
On the fateful day, police engaged them while they were robbing commuters and they made to escape by engaging the police in a shootout. This led to the death of Fashola and his gang member.
Several eyewitnesses recounted their ordeal in the hands of the robbers with many of them identifying Fashola as one of their tormentors.
