The Take It Back Movement, Lagos State Chapter has condemned the wave of unlawful police raids and random arrests in the Egan community of Igando, in the aftermath of a deadly robbery that occurred along the Isheri-Igando road on Thursday 25th of July, 2025.
According to the Lagos State coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Adekunle Adeyemi Taofeek, the robbery at Lanre bus stop claimed the lives of three innocent persons. However, rather than focusing their investigation at the crime scene or its immediate surroundings, operatives of the CP Tactical Team stationed in Ijegun have allegedly descended on residents in Egan, a community located some 5 to 6 kilometers away, targeting civilians with arrests, profiling, and extortion.
“Innocent residents are being picked up, harassed, and in many cases, forced to part with large sums of money in order to secure their release,” Adekunle said in a statement made public on Friday.
He cited a recent case involving a young man running a business in the area who was reportedly forced to pay ₦150,000 to regain his freedom after being raided. “I have contacted their commander and can confirm that steps are being taken to refund the money. But this is not enough,” he stressed.
The Take It Back Movement called the police response not only disproportionate, but a direct violation of human rights, stressing that criminalizing innocent residents under the guise of combating crime is unacceptable.
“You do not fight crime by committing another. You do not restore peace by creating fear. Our communities deserve protection, not persecution,” the statement read.
Adekunle further disclosed plans to meet with the Officer in Charge of the Tactical Unit to demand an immediate halt to what the group describes as “illegal arrests and extortions.”
According to P.M Express, the tragic incident that resulted to these issues occurred on the night of Friday, July 25, 2025, when a gang of armed robbers launched a brutal attack at Lanre Bus Stop along the LASU-Igando Road in Lagos.
Eyewitnesses made it known that the assailants arrived in a vehicle around 8pm, opened fire indiscriminately, and robbed unsuspecting passersby of their belongings.
The violent operation lasted several minutes and left six people shot, with three confirmed dead on the spot.
Among the deceased was Reuben Peter Njoku, a recently discharged NYSC graduate, who had only gone to buy food when the gunmen struck. The other three victims, who sustained gunshot wounds, were rushed to a nearby hospital where they remain in critical condition.
Shockingly, the robbers escaped the scene without resistance, as there was reportedly no police or security presence at the time of the attack.
When P.M. EXPRESS contacted the Igando Police Division, officers at the station disclosed that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) had travelled to Ikeja to brief the Commissioner of Police regarding the incident.
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