By Desire Emmanuel
Two members of the notorious gang known as Omotaku have been arrested by men of the Lagos State Taskforce while about to rob motorist whose vehicle broke down along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway in Lagos State.
Omotaku, in local parlance, are group of street urchins who waylay motorists whose vehicles break down on highways, especially in the night, dispossessing them of their valuables.
Two of the street urchins, Abiodun Ajasa and Junaid Folami, were apprehended by the operatives of the Taskforce at the Agunlejika end of the expressway.
They were arrested following a tip-off which made the operatives to swing into action and they apprehended the duo while attempting to extort a motorist.
At the point of their arrest, they were said to have claimed to be a bystander and a revenue collector respectively.
However, investigations by Taskforce officials confirmed that they were notorious Omotaku gang members who had evaded arrest on several occasions.
During interrogation, Ajasa reportedly confessed that their targets were usually vehicles conveying goods from Apapa Port whenever they broke down along the expressway.
He revealed that they used to approach such motorists under the guise of revenue collectors, claiming to protect them from rival Omotaku groups, before threatening them with vehicle impoundment unless they paid certain amounts of money.
Folami also confessed that his role was to prevent drivers from gaining access to their vehicles in order to instill fear and panic, thereby forcing them into negotiations.
The Chairman of the Taskforce, CSP Adetayo Akerele, assured that the suspects would be prosecuted in accordance with the law upon the conclusion of the investigation.
