The Lagos State Police Command has said that most of the reported cases of robberies in different parts of the state are false alarms raised to cause panic in society.
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The Command said that several phone calls to police hotlines turn out to be pranks from the callers, while hashtags such as #OgunUnrest and #LagosUnrest have trended on Twitter for days with residents reporting robbery cases in Alagbado, Agbado, Ijaiye, Abule Egba, Agege, Ogba, Akute, Ota, and Sango areas of both Lagos and Ogun states.
Findings revealed that multiple residents in Ogun State had been unable to sleep since the lockdown began a week ago due to the robberies.
While reacting to the reported cases, Bala Elkana, the Lagos State Police spokesperson said that most of the reports are not true, as people kept calling the police, only to put them in distress to watch while nothing was happening in those communities.
He said the reported cases at Ogba, Abule Egba, Agege and some other areas are only false alarms.
He said:
People are just at home being creative, sending panic messages, both Ogun and Lagos.
Elkana also said that there were only three real cases of robberies- one in Ogun community and two in Lagos communities.
The Superintendent of Police said that hoodlums and miscreants have devised a new way of robbing people during the lockdown as against the claims on social media.
Elkana stressed:
You know their style? They will step out in the name of supremacy fight, just to create confusion and draw people from their houses and start stealing from them and snatching phones.
The image maker further revealed that there was a cult clash within Ogun communities close to Alakoko area, and the area had been battling this for about five days while the Ogun State Police Command had been making arrests.
Elkana disclosed that during the clashes, they loot from people, steal phones, especially from those who refuse to sit in their houses.
Due to the proximity of the community to Lagos State, once the clash starts, the Lagos State Command receives multiple calls from people on robbery and hoodlums disturbing the area and we rush there.”
Because we are very close to the community, we had to send some of our men to help them, and also because those hoodlums trying to escape the Ogun State police split into Lagos communities. Nine of them were arrested yesterday.
See video below:
make una come again una go collect #LagosUnrest pic.twitter.com/3mA9Ohz7Cz
— King David (@kingdavido05) April 12, 2020