… bullet stuck in gun chamber as they open fire on occupants

Two luckless car snatchers, who were fleeing robbery scene after a failed attempt to dispossess the owner of his vehicle, have been apprehended as Shagari Estate residents in Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos rallied round the occupants of the vehicle.

Out of the three-man gang, two were arrested — Abbey Kolawole, 40, Ikenna Eze, 30, while the third whose name was given as Femi is still at large.

“Femi, now at large, had fired into the air to warn the occupants of the vehicle to jump out.

“But an occupant in the car had auto-locked it and wound up upon sighting the armed robbers. Femi attempted to fire a second time at the passengers but the locally made double barrel gun got hooked,’’ a source said.

In their escape bid, they attempted to scale the fence of a house after their attempt to dispossess the two occupants of the vehicle who were having conversation.

However, it was bad luck for them as they were caught by residents after hearing a gunshot on the road.

The source said as the residents came out in large numbers to find out what was happening, the robbers fled in different directions and abandoned their gun.

“Kolawole and Eze were unfortunate as they were caught while scaling the fence and were handed over to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives who had intercepted a distress call in the area,” the police said on Sunday.

The suspects have been handed over to the Divisional Police Headquarters at Gowon Estate.

The newly-appointed Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr Hakeem Odumosu, praised the gallantry and courage of the estate residents in apprehending the robbers.

He urged Lagosians to continue to cooperate and partner with the police as well as being vigilant and security-conscious.