The Ogun State Police Command has said its Special Weapons and Tactics Unit rescued a man posing as a soldier from being lynched by a mob in the Olomore area of Abeokuta, the state capital.
This was disclosed in a statement by the command’s spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, on Tuesday.
According to command, the rescue followed a distress call intercepted by the command’s Cyber Centre indicating that a crowd had surrounded a man dressed in full military camouflage and were preparing to attack him.
Odutola said the rapid response of SWAT operatives prevented a likely fatal mob action.
She said, “The incident followed a distress call intercepted by the command’s Cyber Centre, alerting operatives that a man dressed in full military green camouflage uniform was surrounded by a crowd and on the verge of being lynched.
“SWAT operatives raced to the scene, and upon sighting the officers, the mob immediately dispersed, allowing safe rescue of the suspect.”
Odutola explained that intelligence gathered pointed to allegations that the suspect had stolen two mobile phones from a resident before being chased and caught by youths in the area.
She stated, “Open-source intelligence further revealed that the suspect, Robinson Godday ‘m’, 31 years old, had allegedly snatched two mobile phones from a young man in the area.
“His attempt to escape proved futile as he was overtaken by a large crowd intent on mob justice.
He was subsequently assaulted by the irate youths and sustained an injury on his right leg.”
The command added that the recovered mobile phones were returned to their owner by the crowd before police intervention.
During preliminary questioning, the 31-year-old suspect, identified as Robinson Godday, reportedly admitted he was not a member of the military.
Odutola said, “The suspect confessed that he was not a military officer, admitting that he had stolen the military uniform from a soldier serving at the Ojo Military Barracks, Lagos, who is currently deployed on operations in the North-East.”
The Commissioner of Police, Lanre Ogunlowo, has ordered heightened security checks around the area to prevent similar situations.
According to Odutola, the CP frowned at the mob action and directed that more raids and stop-and-search operations should be carried out around Olomore to stop this kind of incident.
Odutola said the suspect is currently in custody as investigations continue.
The command also cautioned residents against taking laws into their own hands, urging them to hand over suspects to law enforcement officers.
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