Robbers hijack tanker, divert N4.5m fuel

The police in Lagos are on the trail of some suspected robbers, who allegedly hijacked a tanker laden with 33,000-litre fuel valued at N4.5m on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The robbers were also said to have abducted the vehicle’s escort, Shittu Oluwasegun.
It was learnt that the product was to be delivered to a filling station in Ore, Ondo State, before the tanker was hijacked in the Sagamu, Ogere, Ogun State end of the expressway.
The police said a man, identified simply as Lateef, from whom the tanker was hired to transport the fuel, allegedly connived with the robbers.

Our correspondent gathered that the owner of the product, Muyideen Adebayo, had sometime in September, rented the tanker for N170,000 through one Muyideen Abdulhameed and Tunde Adeleke, who reportedly presented themselves as managers.
The robbers, who were reportedly five in number, including Lateef, ambushed the tanker driver and the escort, Oluwasegun, around 7.30pm on the expressway.
They allegedly hijacked the tanker and whisked Oluwasegun away in a car.
“When we got to Ogere, Lateef stopped the driver and said he was the owner of the tanker. He left with the driver for about an hour before they came back.
“Immediately the driver and I entered the vehicle to continue our journey, a car waylaid us. One of the occupants pointed a gun at me, forced me into the car and drove off. Lateef was among them. They later dropped me off near a bush after collecting my mobile phone,” Oluwasegun told the police.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the case was reported at the Trinity Police Station and referred to the Special Ant-Robbery Squad, Ikeja, leading to the managers’ arrest.
One of the suspects, Adeleke, said, “I don’t know anything about the robbery. I am a truck driver. Muyideen (Abdulhameed) told me that he rented out tankers. Mr. Adebayo met with me and said he needed a tanker to transport fuel to Ore. I introduced him to Muyideen and they discussed. He paid N100,000 in advance.”
Abdulhameed, who is also a truck driver, said, “I don’t have any truck or tanker. The tanker in question is owned by Lateef and I rented it from him for that trip. When I was told that the tanker had been stolen, I immediately called him but he didn’t pick my calls. He later switched off his phone.
“I don’t know where he lives. We met at a prison in Ogun State.”
The two suspects were subsequently brought before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court by a police prosecutor, Inspector Benedict Aigbokhan, on three counts bordering on conspiracy and robbery.
The charges read in part, “That you, Muyideen Abdulhameed, Tunde Adeleke and others at large, on September 9, 2016, at about 7.30pm along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in the Ikeja Magisterial District, while armed with a gun and other weapons did kidnap one Shittu Oluwasegun, the escort in charge of a Daf tanker with number plate, AAA871XB, loaded with 33,000 litres of petrol, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 269 (1) and punishable under Section 269 (3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.”
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail by the presiding magistrate, Mrs. O.  Olanipekun, in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties each in like sum.
The case was adjourned till November 17, 2016.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tight security as Abia council polls hold today

Image
The Commissioner of Police in Abia State, Mr. Adeleye Oyebade, has said the State Police command will provide adequate security across the seventeen local government areas of the State to ensure a smooth conduct of the local government election today. He stated that the Nigerian constitution guarantees that there must be adequate security during elections at the local councils because the people at the grassroots were involved. Oyebade who spoke during a press conference with senior Police officers in Umuahia, the State Capital, pointed out that the command had mapped out its operational plans to secure the State during and after the election. He explained that leaders of various political parties in the State have been briefed regarding the conduct of their candidates and the electorate on the election day. He said, “Every credible election must be well planned, because proper planning prevents poor performance. So those of us that are stakeholders in the State h...
Read more

Confusion As ‘Cross Of Jesus’ Is Sighted In Nasarawa Mosque

Image
Residents of Assakio Development Area in Lafia, Nasarawa State were thrown into confusion on Saturday following the sudden appearance of a strange cross five feet away from a central mosque in the community. The mysterious sighting attracted a mammoth crowd from Assakio and its environs with many praying for forgiveness and blessings. Our correspondent observed that the illuminated cross was projected on to the ground. A 15 year-old-girl, Hajara Hussaini, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, said she first sighted the sign of a cross at about 8pm on Wednesday. Hussaini, who said she had been sent on an errand by her parents, explained that when she saw a strange light, she as gripped by fear and rushed back home to alert her mother, Matan Liman. Confirming the incident to journalists, Matan said she had sent her daughter to visit her grandmother. The middle-aged woman added that her daughter saw the crucifix while returning from the errand. The Chief Imam of Assakio ...
Read more

Empress, Juliet Ibrahim in war of words over domestic violence

Image
Nigerian actress Empress Njama has also decided to voice their opinion on the issue of domestic violence. She however, seem to be the one of the few who has decided to fight for the men. She said, if a man hits a woman, it is called domestic violence but when a woman hit a man, what is it called? “There are men out there who are abused mentally by women through words and abuses than women who are been beaten physically  She however, maintained that she is not in support of men physically abusing a man, just that we needed to get it right on the issue of domestic violence “I’m not saying it is advisable for a man to beat up or assault a woman, but some women are headstrong that they can traumatize their partner mentally to the extent that he has no choice than to beat her up” She also made it clear that no marriage is without its challenges and that the two needs to work together to help it wor...
Read more