By Oghenekevwe Laba, Lagos
What would have been a devastating robbery attack on a bullion van coupled with an articulated kidnap attempt focused on the Managing Director of YF Construction Company, a Lebanese, were however aborted by policemen from Area ‘E’ Police Command Headquarters FESTAC Town, Lagos.
Nine of the suspects who were paraded at the premises of Lagos State Police Command Public Relation Office, Oduduwa, Ikeja, Lagos are former driver of the company, Omosefe Patrick, Monday Echoba, Mohammed Isa, Godwin Onoja, Wisdom and Awamrin. Others are Oshussein Abel, Musa Salifa, Driver to the Managing Director Emmanuel Natha and Human Resource Manager of the company Emmanuel Osude.
The gang were alleged to have hatched the plan to either kidnapped or assassinate the Managing Director of YF Construction Company located at 9 Probin Road, Ikoyi, Lagos on November 30TH, 2012, They also plan to intercept a bullion van conveying millions of Naira belonging to the company on the same day.

Commandant of Area ‘E’ Commandt Headquarters, ACP Dan Okoro briefing the press on how his men foiled the robbery and kidnap attempt

Based on intelligent report, Commandant of Area ‘E’ Police Command Headquarters, FESTAC Town, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Dan Okoro and his men embarked on an undercover surveillance at their meeting point at Rock View Hotel, FESTAC Town, Lagos and arrested three of the suspects while knotting their operational strategy. Further interrogation led to arrest of another six suspects, four of which were imported from Abuja to assist in the execution.
While speaking to Urhobotoday, alleged master planner of the foiled robbery and kidnap operation, former driver of YF Construction Company, Omosefe Patrick confirmed the report, reiterating that they were still planning on how to execute the attack when the police arrested them.
Speaking to Urhobotoday over the arrest, Dan Okoro who led the surveillance and final arrest of the hoodlums described how the criminals were arrested as a hi-tech investigation based on proactive active action.
“This time around we do not want a situation of arresting persons when they must have executed the offence or crime. We do not want to go looking for dead bodies and we do not want to go looking for arms after they must have been used. We want to stop it before the event happened. That is what the Inspector of Police Mr Mohammed Abubukar is preaching. He said there must be proactive policy. That is exactly what we did. We did a forensic investigation encompassing a decoy job done very well,” Okoro who was recently honoured with the ‘Crime Buster Award of the Year 2013” by Crime Reporters of Nigeria (CRAN) stated.