TWO robbery suspects in the dragnet of the Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS) Lagos State Police Command, Akinbola Akinyemi,34, aka Chiefoo and Abdul Rasheed Ahmed,18, have blamed the crime rate in the state on queer land speculators. “I blame my predicament on land speculators aka Omo Onile. They were the ones who hired us to protect their land with a token fee. Instead of calling professional surveyors they give local surveyors a token, despite advising them to call professional surveyors. At times, they pay me as little as N2, 000. Some of the landlords are retired armed robbers. However, the attraction there is that, at times, if you are lucky you can be given a plot of land as compensation. At times, they purchase guns for us to fight rival gangs. They gave me an acre of land at Isawo in Ikorodu.” “What happened that day when guns were discovered in our bag was very unfortunate because I was not used to carrying ammunition for them. A police source said the two suspects are members of an 11- man robbery gang who also work as thugs for some land speculators. “ Akinbola was arrested by a team of highway policemen in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State after an exchange gunfire, while other members of the gang escaped. Akinbola’s confessions during interrogation led to the arrest of the second suspect, Ahmed. A bag containing one locally made short gun, axe, charms, five cartridges and one expended cartridge was abandoned by the fleeing gang members. When interrogated, Abimbola said he was attached to a Task Force under the Federal Ministry of Works. Ahmed, who claimed to be jobless, later told police that he was employed by the first suspect, Akinbola ,to join his gang to protect lands for their clients and, at times, to take over disputed property. Ahmed, in his confession, said, “We are 11-man gang. Akinbola, who is popularly called Chiefoo is my brother. He asked me to follow him to the site. When I got there, I saw many of the boys armed with machetes, cutlasses, iron rods, guns and other dangerous weapons, smoking and drinking heavily. We drove a rival gang away from the land with our superior fire power and charms. After taking over the land, we told some policemen in the area to arrest any of the boys driven away anytime they are sighted within the neighbourhood.” Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko, is expecting the officer in-charge of the SARS, a superintendent of police ,SP Abba Kyari, to fish out the remaining nine members of the gang as a standing order that no hoodlum that dares Lagos would be allowed to rest until fished out, even if they escaped to foreign lands.
Tag: robbery suspects
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Three robbery suspects, two ‘kidnappers’ held in Ogun
The police in Ogun State have arrested three robbery suspects, who have allegedly been terrorising commuters on the bridge at the Ibafo stretch of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Christopher Abuo, Nwanorim Ukachkwu and Ali Segun allegedly confessed to the crime.
It was learnt that a pistol, some ammunition, police and military uniforms were recovered from them.
It was gathered that the suspects were arrested on Saturday on the bridge.
The command is on the trail of fleeing members of the gang.
Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi confirmed the arrest.
He said two suspected kidnappers – Philip Okere and Ugho Samuel, were arrested at Dalemo Agbado on Saturday.
Adejobi said: “According to the complainant, Folorunsho Abraham, Okere and Samuel attempted to kidnap his grand children, Damilola Folorunsho (6) and Olaitan Folorunsho (5). The suspects were questioned about their mission in the area and could not give satisfactory explanation. They will soon be transferred to the Department of Criminal Investigation at Eleweran in Abeokuta as directed by the Commissioner of Police, Ikemefuna Okoye.”
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Police arrest five robbery suspects
The police have recovered a chief revolver, three locally-made guns and four live cartridges from some suspected robbers in Lagos.
The recoveries were made by operatives of the Bar Beach and Oko Oba Police Stations.
Five suspected bandits are also being held at the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), at Panti, Yaba, Lagos Mainland.
It was gathered that about 11. 35pm last Saturday, a police patrol team led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Bar Beach Mr Adegoke Fayoade, Chief Superintendent (CSP), while on a stop-and-search intercepted a Volkswagen commercial bus marked, APP 291 XG, with five occupants.
The occupants were asked to disembark for routine check; but they jumped out of the vehicle and took to their heels.
The policemen, it was gathered, chased and arrested two of the suspects who were identified as Rasaki Ogunbiji (22) and Dare Ganiyu (20).
“The items recovered from the suspects include one chief revolver and one cut-to-size locally-made pistol with two live cartridges,” a police source told The Nation.
Also about 4pm, that day, policemen attached to Oko-Oba Division, had a gun duel with some robbery suspects.
Three of them were arrested, while two locally made pistols, two live cartridges and a stolen Bajaj motorcycle were recovered.
Spokesperson of the Police Command Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said the cases were being investigated, adding that they would be prosecuted after the investigations.
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Police exhume bodies of robbery suspects
Edo State Police Command yesterday exhumed the decomposing bodies of five armed robbery suspects killed on November 24 last year, in an alleged shootout with the police.
The exercise, which took place at the Second Cemetery, followed a court action instituted by the family of one of the suspects, Samuel Imaikop, whom they insisted was a farmer.
One of the late Samuel’s wives was said to have been delivered of a baby on New Year Day.
Samuel’s relatives wept as they sighted the bodies.
The remains were deposited at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital for autopsy.
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Police arrest three robbery suspects
Three armed robbery suspects were arrested at the weekend in Lagos by men of the state police command, it was learnt yesterday. Policemen attached to the Ketu Police Division also arrested a suspected armed robber.
“A distress call from Arikawe Street, Ikosi Ketu that robbers were attacking a resident. A team of anti-robbery attached Ketu Police Station led by inspector Babatunde Amure, raced to the scene and arrested one Abiodun Agomeji with a locally made double-barrel pistol fully loaded with a live cartridge. The robber stated that he and four others from Ojodu came to rob the resident before he was arrested, while others escaped,” a police source said.
Two other suspects who had allegedly been terrorising residents of Jakande Estate, Isolo and environs for months were also arrested in the early hours of Friday.
The suspects, Femi Akogun and Tubosun Adenekan, belonged to a three-man robbery gang.
According to the police, the suspects went from one house to the other, stealing 27 phones, two laptops and other valuables.
It was learnt that after terrorising residents for hours, the suspects escaped in a blue Toyota Matrix car marked FST 368 CF.
Sources said on getting to Adeniji Adele area of the state, the robbers were intercepted by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and a gun battle ensued.
It was learnt that during the exchange of gunfire, one of the suspects was killed while 25-year-old Akogun and 21-year-old Adenekan were arrested with bullet wounds.
Police source said: “We recovered two double-barrel pistols, 16 live cartridges and three expended cartridges from them. We also recovered two laptops, 27 phone sets and other house-breaking tools from them. Meanwhile investigations are ongoing.”
Command’s spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP) confirmed their arrest.
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Police arrest four robbery suspects
Four robbery suspects have been arrested by the police in Kano. The suspects are believed to be members of a syndicate, which reportedly steals generators.
Parading them yesterday, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), David Omojola, said the suspects allegedly specialise in stealing antennas of service providers and generators.
Omojola said the four suspects were apprehended at Gayawa quarters in Kano after they had sold the generators for N750,000, instead of N2.5 million.
Omojola said a crane motor with registration number NSR114XA was recovered from them.
He listed the suspects as Sabiu Ahmed Dahiru, Nasiru Mustapha, Ibrahim Jamilu and Musa Abdullahi, adding that the case would soon be charged to court.
One of the suspects, Mustapha (21) said he was given N150,000.
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Five trans-border robbery suspects in police net
The police in Lagos have smashed a vehicle snatching gang comprising among others, five suspected armed robbers based in Cotonou and Ghana.
The suspects were arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command yesterday. It was gathered that the suspects are part of a seven-man gang. Two of the suspects are still at large.
Police sources told The Nation that the three receivers who assist the hoodlums with the disposal of their stolen vehicles were among those arrested.
Those arrested are Kingsley Chibuzor (22), Ozoemena Enebeli (29), Prince Nwafor (23), Paul Chukwu (35), and Chika Eze (27). Police said the suspects have operated in Anambra, Lagos, Ebonyi State, and Delta State.
When The Nation interviwed the suspects, they confessed to the crime adding that they went into crime due to hardship.
One of the suspects Chibuzor who claimed to be the son to a retired soldier said he escaped from Kirikiri Prison two years ago.
“When I escaped from prison I stayed in my village for six months. I came back to Lagos and started driving commercial bus. It was in the course of my driving that I encountered one Ozor in a beer parlour at First Gate, Ojo road, after which we formed a two man gang. Our first operation was at a street in Surulere area. We saw a man drive inside his compound and wechased him with a gun and snatched his Toyota Camry car which we sold for N200, 000.
“Prince later joined us. We got another buyer called Baba two. We snatched a Highlander jeep from Asaba and took it to Ebonyi State and sold it to Paul for N400, 000. We also snatched Rv4 jeep at Igando which we also sold to Paul N150, 000”, he said.
Enebeli on his part claimed to be a computer graphic artist; he said he worked in a printing press in Palm Avenue Mushin on salary of N30, 000 before he joined the gang.
“My wife did not know that I am an armed robber. I gave Paul four cars that I snatched before travelling to Ghana when I became tired of robbing.
Nwafor said he was a commercial motorcyclist in Lagos until the ban on their operation. He noted that it was because he could not get another job to survive on that he decided to join the gang.
“It was Kingsley who took me to the gang and after they told me how I was going to be making money through robbery operations, I joined. I used to record and take photograph of every operation I participated to help me challenge the gang anytime they want to cheat me when we are money sharing I will play it.
I had resigned from armed robbery but had to resume when my wife, son, mother and father died in a bloody land disput between Amaego community in Ebonyi State and Agadama community in Cross River State. They entered our village and slaughtered everybody. There was this operation I participated in which Ozor nearly killed me. We snatched a vihicled and sold it N800, 000. They gave me only N100, 000 and two of them shared N700, 000.
Chukwu another suspect said, “I used to sell children wears. I traveled to Cotonou to get my goods. I used to do other work like arranging to get army escort that will help cross car for us. Each of the escort was paid N35, 000. We also arraged for police, custom, and immigration to assist us escort cars.
Initially I did not know that they were robbers until they stopped suppling me vehicles, but when I found out, I promised to purchase AK47 rifle for them so that the supply will continue. It was one Ugochukwu that used to help me to get customs paper”.
Eze, a computer engineer, who is also a member of the gang said: “It was my cousin Cyril who lured me into crime. He told me to contact him whenever I see a good car between N700, 000 and N800, 000. Later Jerry saw somebody with Toyota FJ Cruiser at N700, 000. One Theophilus later bought it N700, 000.
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Two robbery suspects held in Ondo
The police in Ondo State yesterday arrested a suspected robber and his alleged informant.
The police got a call that robbers were operating at the Energy filling station in Pele, Ondo town, and moved to the scene.
One of the “robbers”, Ernest Otulor, was arrested but three escaped with N250,000 and two mobile telephones.
A Russian-made single barrel gun and one cartridge were recovered from Otulor, who hails from Oneke in Ebonyi State.
It was learnt that his arrest led to the arrest of Jeremiah Akpan, the gang’s alleged informant.
He allegedly sent the filling station’s security man on an errand to pave the way for the robbers.
A cartridge used for the operation was reportedly found in Akpan’s home.
Also yesterday, a Police Constable, Omoniyi Edema, attached to the Bolorunduro Police Station near Ogbese Division was killed by hoodlums on his way to work. His motorcycle was stolen.
He was shot in the head and had several machete cuts. Edema body had been deposited at the mortuary of the Akure Specialist Hospital.
Police sources said three suspects, Ameh John, Aboh Michael and Olowolagba Toyin, who received the deceased’s motorcycle, have been arrested and have confessed to the crime.
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Two robbery suspects killed in Enugu
The police in Enugu State yesterday killed two robbery suspects, who were allegedly terrorising residents of Uwani and its environs.
A statement by police spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said operatives intercepted the suspects in a cab on Amigbo lane opposite the College of Immaculate Conception gate, Uwani.
As the operatives tried to stop the cab, the suspects shot at the operatives, who returned fire.
Two of them were injured and arrested; one escaped with an injury.
“The suspects were rushed to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku Ozalla, where they were confirmed dead.
Recovered from them were a double barrel gun cut-to size, three locally-made pistols, three live cartridges and two expended cartridges.
The police have arrested a suspect, Kingsley Anukwocha, for alleged impersonation.
The suspect was caught on Zik Avenue near the Uwani police station during a routine stop-and-search.
Amaraizu said the suspect presented a Nigeria Prisons Service identity card, which was suspected to be fake.
Anukwocha reportedly confessed that he was not a prison officer and added that the identity card was used to beat security checks.
In Aba, Abia State, a gang of four, which allegedly specialises in car robbery, has been arrested.
A woman-member of the gang was killed when the group engaged the police in a gun battle; other members escaped with injuries.
The woman, it was gathered, worked at 3arrow Hotel, Okpu Umuobo, Osisioma Local Government Area.
A Toyota Camry with registration number, Lagos KSF 657 AR, which was alleged to have been snatched from the owner in Warri, Delta State, was recovered.
It was gathered that the police were able to recover the car with the aid of a tracking device.
A resident of Eziama praised the police for their gallantry.
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We operated as three different gangs coordinated by a grand commander — Robbery suspects
An ex-convict, Sunday Bassey (23), arrested with four others for armed robbery has regretted his inability to quit the trade before his arrest because he feared that he could become an object of attack by other members of the gang. Other members of the gang, who are still active as armed robbers, he said, would see him as a threat and could resort to eliminating him. He also said he feared that they might implicate him whenever they were caught.
The other four suspected members of the gang arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command include Abbas Lukmon (19), Oyifara Toyin (23), Kojo Richard (21) and Adebayo Femi (23). The others still at large include the alleged leader of the gang, Isiaka, and one Chukwuma a.k.a. Goodnews. The police claimed they recovered three locally made pistols and 23 rounds of live ammunition from the gang. Police sources said the gang had been involved in more than robbery operations before five of its members were arrested.
Confessing his roles in the gang’s activities, Sunday Bassey said: “I am from Eket village in Uyo Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State. I am a bus driver and ex-convict. I was once sentenced to the Kirikiri Maximum Prison where I spent 10 months before I bought my freedom. My lawyer perfected my release, but I spent my life savings for that arrangement before I regained my freedom.
“I would have resigned from armed robbery, but my colleagues would not let me go. They continued to tell me to accompany them to robbery operations, and you know the grave consequence of avoiding them when they need you. They may not only try to implicate you whenever they are arrested, they may also come after you to kill you so that you will not be a threat to the continued existence of the gang. They would think that once you resign, you will likely become an informant to the police.
“We have three different gangs. The first is based at Oyingbo (Lagos) and is led by Muri Eteh. They are about four in the gang. The second is based at Ikotun (Lagos) led by one Chukwuma a.k.a. Goodnews. The third is based at Ketu (Lagos) led by Isiaka, the grand commander of the three gangs.”
Asked what items the gangs specialised in stealing, he said: “We rob people and traders who sell food items like rice, garri, beans, melon, palm oil and stock fish, among others. We also rob fuel attendants at filling stations. We rob pharmaceutical shops, supermarkets and recharge card outlets where we are likely to get big money.
“In the Ketu gang, we are only seven, including myself, Isiaka the gang leader and grand commander of the three independent gangs, Lukman, Toyin, Kojo and Femi. I have participated in many robbery operations. The first operation I participated in when I came back from prison was at Alapere.
We robbed three times at Alapere. The first place was a pharmaceutical shop. We were four and got N40,000; myself, Kojo, Femi and Toyin. Each of us got N10,000 because the money was shared equally. The second place was a shop where the shop owner held my colleague at the waist and I shot him in the hand to free my colleague. We could not get a dime from the shop because the shop attendant said his boss had already come to collect the day’s sales before we arrived. I fired the victim because he held my commander, Isiaka.
“Another place where we operated was at a filling station in Ikotun. We threatened the fuel attendants with gun and robbed them of the day’s sales. From the first pump, we got N35, 000, while we got N25,000 from the second pump.
“At Alapere, we robbed rice sellers but could not get a kobo because their master had come to collect the whole sales before we arrived there. We also robbed a provision shop at Alapere. We went into the shop and pretended that we wanted to buy table water. As the man went to bring the table water, I rushed at him with my short gun and ordered him to lie face down while Isiaka ordered his visitor, at gun point, to also lie face down. He collected the visitor’s two Black Berry phones while I collected the sales money, about N95, 000. Isiaka also collected the visitor’s N50, 000. Other members of the gang filled their pockets with assorted hot drinks, choice wine and other provisions. We also took some bottles of beer before we left. It was a 30-minute operation.
“At Ikotun, we robbed recharge card sellers. We got N50,000 worth of recharge cards. It was a successful operation. I sent my own share of the stolen recharge cards (about N10, 000) to my colleague, Rasheed, who was still serving his jail term in Ikoyi Prison to sell and feed himself.
“There were three members of the gang who held guns. I bought my gun for N20, 000. It was Isiaka that bought it for me. Isiaka has his own gun and Muri Eteh also has his own gun. They are all locally made guns.”
Asked how the gang got information on their victims, he said: “We have our members in most of the places we robbed. It was either they live there or they usually visited such places and knew the terrain very well. At times, they accompanied us to carry out the operations. At Ikotun, we have up to three boys. I can remember Chukwuma and the one we call Goodnews. I don’t know the name the others.
“The important thing is that we know our members. Their names are not important, for security reasons, and that is why some of us prefer to be called by our alias so that if the police declare us wanted, we can start answering our real names or another alias.
“I know Abbas. He is my friend. But he is not a full member of our gang. He only keeps our operational guns for us. When we want to rob, he brings the guns, and after operation, he hid the guns for us and we always rewarded him handsomely. At times, he played the role of an informant by spying on the police and making friends with them in order to get information that would frustrate any attempt to track us down. At times, we gave him N5, 000, N10, 000 or more, depending on how much we got from an operation. At other times, we didn’t give him anything, particularly when market is bad.”
The second suspect, Abbas Lukman, said: “I am from Ife, Osun State. But I am based at Ketu, Lagos State where I worked at a barbing salon. My boss paid me according to how many heads I barber in a day. I got between N1, 000 and N1, 500 per day. Customers also gave me money, especially rich men. Some gave me as much as N1, 000, so there were days I went home with N5, 000. But I spent most of my money on prostitutes, drinks, clothes and friends.
It was one of my friends/customers, Sunday Bassey, who introduced me to the gang by giving me their guns to keep for them. One day, I was barbing for one of our customers when Sunday on a motorcycle called me to take one polythene bag and keep for him. I collected the bag.
“At the close of work around 10 pm, I opened the bag to see its content and found three locally made pistols and some live cartridges. Surprised, I called him and asked him what the guns were meant for and he told me not to worry; that he would come and collect them for a job and that I would benefit from it later. He said he would collect a lot of money with the ATM. I asked him to explain what he meant by ATM and he said that was what his gang’s members call guns, because they used it to collect money easily from victims.
“They used to give me N2, 000. Sometimes, they give me N5, 000, depending on what they had in mind to give me any time they wanted to collect the guns or hand over the guns for safe keeping. It was when I discovered that they used to share big money after each operation that I decided to be accompanying them to operations. It was then that I started getting big money from them, like N10, 000, N20, 000, depending on what we get from each operation.
“The first day I kept the guns, he (Sunday) gave me N2, 000. The second one was at Demurin Road, Ketu. He gave me a polythene bag and N4,000. The third one, he met me and dashed me N5, 000 and I gave him the guns. The fourth, which was the last one, he called me on the phone and asked where I was. I told him that I was at the barbing salon attending to customers. He insisted that I should come. I told him that I would not come and he gave the poly bag to one of my friends to give to me. His name is Chukwuman, the gang member that is still at large.
“The next day, I saw Sunday with the police in my shop and I was told that I was under arrest for armed robbery. I regret being arrested because I did not save any money since I joined the gang. When I was doing my barbing work alone, I used to make N2, 000 to N3, 000 every day after I had delivered N 5, 000 to my master. For the number of months I worked in the salon I saved a reasonable sum. But since I joined the armed robbery gang, I have not saved a dime and I have nothing to show for the high risk in the armed robbery job I plunged myself into.”
The third suspect, Oyifara Toyin, a native of Ilaorogun, Osun State, confessed his role thus: “I am a commercial motorcycle rider. I used to carry the members to robbery scenes. I participated in two operations only. The first one was at Ikotun where we robbed recharge card dealers. We got N70, 000 worth of recharge cards. I was given N10, 000 worth of recharge cards as my own share.
“I also followed them to rob a filling station in Ikotun. Unfortunately, the vigilante people pursued us, and as we were running with our motorcycle, we had an accident and abandoned our motorcycle to enable us escape. Sunday also said we lost all the money while trying to escape from the angry mob at the accident point.
“He asked me where I was and I told him that I was at home. He said he would come and see me in the morning, being a Friday. I told him that I was no more interested in armed robbery and that I would like to be left alone. He said I should not worry, that he himself had also decided to quit but had one thing to discuss with me. To my greatest surprise, he came with SARS operatives and they told me that I was under arrest for conspiracy and armed robbery.
“I had stopped doing robbery with them since December 23, 2012. I left them because of the motorcycle I lost in the operation I got accident in while trying to escape. I was with Richard. When I left, they replaced me with Adebayo Femi.”
The fourth suspect, Kojo Richard, said: “I am from Ilaorogun village in Osun State. I am a commercial motorcycle rider. My role is to carry gang member to operation points and back. They used to tell me that my spirit was not good and that it brought bad luck to the gang. So, they ended up not giving me a kobo.
“Luckily, in the first operation, they gave me N10, 000. From the second operation, I got N3, 000. But from the last one, I did not get a dime.”
Asked why he left his motorcycle business to join the gang, he said: “I brought my motorcycle with hire purchase. When I was about to complete payment, motorcycle snatchers drugged me and collected the motorcycle. I started looking for who would give me another motorcycle to ride and make weekly returns.
“That was my situation when Sunday met me and told me that he had a good job for me. I asked how and he told me to join their gang. Being frustrated, I accepted to join them.”
The fifth suspect, Femi, says he is a native of Ilaro, Ogun State, and a commercial motorcycle rider. “I got N1, 500 and at times N2, 000 daily. But the owner of the motorcycle set me up and my motorcycle was stolen. Isiaka gave me a motorcycle to use and make a monthly delivery of N1,000.
“After one month, he asked me to take him to Ikotun Petrol Station to rob the fuel attendants. We collected money that day and my share was N15, 000. In the second operation at Ikotun Petrol Station, I was given N3, 700. From the third operation at Alapere where people sell rice, we did not get anything.
“The last one we went to was at Oriola, Ketu, Alapere.”
One of the victims, Francis Okorie (33), a supermarket operator shot by the robbers on the left arm at his Alapere shop, said: “The robbers were heartless. They thought that the shots had killed me because I fell on the ground and became unconscious.”
Other victims who pleaded anonymity said the police should not allow them to come back alive because they had killed many people, including policemen.
Their words: “See how they shot that man selling provision. They meant to kill him but he survived by the grace of God. Leaving them to come back will endanger our lives. Kill all of them.
“Some of them are ex-convicts. They can never repent. Rather, they grow from worse to worst. They constitute worse nuisance when they are allowed to come back. They don’t have value for human lives. Kill them or leave them in prison for life.
“People who solicit for their human rights are benefitting from their crime. They are worse criminals.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Dr. Mike Okiro, has said he would direct the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed D. Abubakar, to look out for police officers and men who have done police proud by performing gallantry and arrange them for special promotion to encourage hard work and courage.
He made this remark on the occasion of the unveiling of Jonathan Housing Estate at Idimu, Lagos by the President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan recently.