At least 16 suspected members of two armed robbery gangs identified as ‘O Strong’ and Get Ready that have been terrorising Lagos Island and its environs have been nabbed by the police in Lagos.
The suspects were arrested with various dangerous weapons at their various hideouts by teams of Anti-robbery detectives attached to the Area ‘A’ Command.
Led by the Assistant commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of the command, Mr. Edga Imohinmi, the detectives swooped on the suspects while they were attacking Muslim worshippers at the last Ramadan midnight prayer (Tha’jud) along Breadfruit Street, near the dislodged popular Oluwole Market, Lagos.
Police sources told P.M.NEWS that one of the suspects identified as Fatai Alade was nabbed at the scene by the policemen, while others escaped. But they were later arrested during a raid on their hideouts, following a confessional statement made by Alade.
It was gathered that the suspects and others at large had dispossessed their victims of valuable items and stabbed a security guard, Yekini Owolabi with a knife on his head at Wahab Folawiyo Street, near the Lagos Central mosque.
Shortly after the arrest of Alade, it was learnt that the detectives raided the suspects’ hideouts at Agarawu (Oju-Ina), which served as the base of O Strong and Odunfa, the base of Get Ready, from 4 a.m. till 10 a.m., where the suspected hoodlums were apprehended.
The suspects, who were undergoing interrogation as at the time of filing this report, include: Qudus Fasanya, Toheed Olateju, Yussuf Ahmed, Yussuf Mustapha, Durojaye Olayemi, Qudus Adebayo Damilola Abina and Lawal Kehinde.
Others are Oriyemi Ibrahim, Ingrenebor Jamiu, Tunde Aboyeji, Akanni Rilwan, Akande Sikiru, Lanre Afolabi and Karimu Rasaki.
The raid may not be unconnected with a petition written to the Area Commander by the Alagba/Obadina/Pashi-Willoughby/Seriki-Akanni joint Community Development Associations (CDAs).
In the petition titled “Resurgence of Hoodlums Terrorising our Community,” dated 2 August, 2012, the CDA officials had alleged that the hoodlums who included boys between the ages of 15 and 18 had been terrorising residents of their areas under the guise of group fighting.
“They normally walk in groups of about 50 when they want to foment trouble, thereby disturbing the peaceful atmosphere in the area. We are imploring you to please use your good office to deploy your men on patrol of our areas intermittently to forestall the reocurrence of what happened in the past,” they stated in the petition signed by Alhaji Raheem Adeniji, Prince Adamson Idowu, chairman and secretary  of the CDA respectively.

16 Robbery Suspects Held