EXCLUSIVE: Finally, Police Arrest Elusive Member of Airport Robbery Gang

In a final mop up of the eight gang members that carried out the huge robbery operations that shook the Murtala Mohammed Airport last year, the Lagos State Police Command yesterday paraded the elusive member of the gang who had been at large.

The suspect, Samuel Mayegun popularly known as Asiwaju, was arrested alongside Abiodun Adegayo, Ezekiel Anthony, Ibrahim Sado and Femi Osiyelu, at the Ikorodu area of the state.

The airport robbery gang had on February 1 and March 13 last year carried out a well coordinated armed robbery attack at the bureau de change at the airport, carting away over 500million naira. 

Although the SP Abba Kyari led Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), carried out subsequent raids and arrested seven of the gang members, one of the kingpins, Mayegun, went into hiding.

The 30-year-old graduate of building and quantity survey From Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, was however weekend, arrested by SARS operatives at the Ikorodu area of Lagos while he was planning for another operation with another gang. 

Confirming the arrest, the state Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, said the suspects were arrested based on a tip off by a credible source.

He said, "On that fateful day, we received a tip off a about 2am that the notorious armed robber had left his hideout in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State for Ikorodu where they were planning a mega operation the next day.

"We recovered one General Purpose Machine  Gun (GPMP), one Ak47 rifle with serial number 533124, two double barrel locally made pistols, 10 GPMG and eight AK47 magazines fully loaded respectively and 32 live cartridges.  

"During interrogation, Mayegun confessed to the robberies at the airport where a burea de change was robbed and money running into millions were carted away and he admitted to getting N45million as his share.

"He had recruited other gang members to continue his nefarious acts as because he thought the police have forgotten him being the only member of the airport robbery gang that eluded arrest."

Manko said the suspect also confessed to participating in other robberies in both Lagos and some South-west states including a huge bank robbery in Kwara State.