Police Arrest Suspected Tanker Hijackers, Recover 40,000ltrs Of Petrol

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested two suspected notorious petroleum tanker hijackers in the Mile 2 area of the state.

Police Operatives from Itire Division made the arrest after intercepting a tanker loaded with 40,000 litres of petroleum product along Iyana-Itire pin down point.

The suspects are Charles Obllomo (37) and Osita Onyeka (35) while the truck driver, Muhammadu Mande, (42) and the conductor, Lawali Usman, (34) were rescued in the process.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos, Bala Elkana, confirmed in a statement on Sunday that the suspects were apprehended while acting on the strength of information from a reliable source.

“In his statement, the truck driver averred that his truck loaded with 40, 000 litres of PMS at Swift Depot, Apapa was billed for Kontagora, Niger State.

“That on getting to a bad portion of the road at Mile 2, four men in military uniform stopped him and asked what product he was carrying before ordering him and his conductor out of the truck into a red Toyota Corolla,” the statement said.

Obllomo and Onyeka were said to have taken possession of the truck while the driver and his conductor were sandwiched by the four men in military uniform in the car.

According to Elkana, the truck was driving behind the car and heading to an unknown destination before it was intercepted by the police.

Mande initially thought the hijackers were military men on stop and search duty until they started beating him and his conductor and threatened to kill them if they refuse to follow their orders.

However, the four suspects in military uniforms escaped with bullet wounds after a fierce battle with the police.

“The Truck and the Toyota Corolla were recovered and moved to the Police Station. Two pairs of vehicle plate numbers and military caps were recovered in the Corolla.

“The truck containing the PMS was handed over to the owner, Sani Samaila ‘m’ 55 years old, the Manager, Petroleum Nigeria Limited, Kontagora, Niger State,” the statement added.

Samaila decried that truck owners have suffered a lot of losses from the activities of hijackers in the past without remedy.

He explained that the syndicate usually hijack trucks and offload the content in locations, mostly outside Lagos, and abandon the truck for the owners to find after some days or weeks.

The Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Hakeem Odumosu, has directed the Commander of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to take over the investigation and ensure that the fleeing suspects were arrested.