The Lagos State Police have apprehended two individuals, Seyi Demola, 26, and Wale Lawson, 27, who are reportedly specialized in defrauding the public.
SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesperson for the state, confirmed the arrests in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account, @benHundeyin, on Saturday.
He reported that the suspects were taken into custody on Saturday by officers from the Isokoko Division of the command.
“The suspected fraudsters were arrested by officers from Isokoko Division following a distress call.
“They were found with two female handbags, cash and an iPhone,” he said.
According to Hundeyin, preliminary investigations indicate that many people have been duped by these fraudsters.
He noted that the investigation is still ongoing.
In a video Hundeyin attached to his post, a woman shared her near-miss encounter with the suspects.
She explained that one of the suspects, who posed as a prophet, approached her offering prayers.
“He told me and his accomplice, who pretended to be seeking help from him, to buy sachet water and use it to pray for each other.
“He instructed the man to pray with the water for me and give me his bag to hold.
“Then he said it was my turn to pray for the man, so I should give him my bag, which I complied.
“During the prayer, he asked me to call out my phone’s password claiming the password will be used to receive favour, ” she said.
She explained that the suspects warned her not to look back, threatening that she would turn into Lot’s wife from the Bible if she did.
She mentioned that the suspects were attempting to escape on a motorcycle when they were intercepted by people, which was when she realized that the suspects were accomplices.