Three members of a gang that allegedly robbed many people, including a monarch, along the Ife Expressway in Osun State, have been arrested by the police in Lagos State.

The gang was said to have robbed the monarch of his crown and other valuables, as well as a yet-to-be-estimated amount of cash.

Members of the gang, however, claimed that the monarch was not their target and that they were returning from a robbery operation when they ran into him.

The gang reportedly blocked the expressway and robbed motorists of their vehicles and other valuables worth about N50 million.

The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Tijani Fatai, disclosed the arrest of the suspects on Wednesday while briefing newsmen on the command’s operational activities in the last one month.

CP Tijani identified the arrested suspects as Chubuzor Anasihwe, Uchenna Steven and Ejike Ani, and added that the gang’s operational vehicle was also recovered.

CP Tijani said, “Operatives of the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit, acting on actionable intelligence, traced and arrested three suspected armed robbers at two different locations in Lagos.

“The suspects are Chubuzor Anasihwe, 31; Uchena Steven, 26; and Ejike Ani, 31.

“Preliminary investigation linked the suspects to alleged robbery operations which occurred on 23/08/2026 and 30/09/2026 along the Ife Expressway in Osun State, during which about five vehicles were reportedly snatched and valuables estimated at approximately ₦50 million were allegedly carted away.

The police boss continued, “One Toyota van with registration number BDJ 180 AJ, Oyo State, was recovered.”

He added, “The suspects have made confessional statements and are assisting the police in efforts to recover the other stolen vehicles, apprehend other members of the gang and recover the weapons allegedly used during their operations.”

Ejike told newsmen, “It was one of my friends, Obinna, who invited us for the operation. He told us that we wanted to go and snatch vehicles.

“I told him that I was broke and that I needed money. That was when he told me about this operation and I agreed.”

The suspect, however, stated, “We didn’t use any gun. We only improvised guns with sticks that were carved like guns and wrapped in cello tape.”

He narrated, “We were sitting at the back of the vehicle when we were returning to Lagos after the operation, when Obinna sighted the monarch’s car.

“He was the one who took everything from him. We didn’t know that he collected his crown and other valuables. It was later that the police showed us everything.” (Nigerian Tribune)