“I am not a robber but a thief” – L.G. staff nabbed by Police with two Other People!

It
is no longer news that robbers attack motorists; both private and commercial,
plying the Badagry expressway, on regular basis, capitalizing on the unending
traffic congestion to dispossess their victims of cash and other
valuables.

The
robbery attacks which usually take place at night have, unfortunately, left many
of their victims maimed and the females in particular, in perpetual
psychological torture, owing to cases of rape.

However,
the good news is that efforts by the Lagos State Police Command ,with the
assistance of the Army seem to be paying off owing to regular arrest of some
perpetrators of the heinous crime.

Recently,
they rounded up a five-man robbery gang and the suspects confessed to have been
operating along the route as far back as five years. The gang, as gathered,
comprised fifteen men.

But
some of them were reportedly killed by security operatives in separate gun
battles with others serving jail terms at the Kirikiri prisons.

But
the remaining suspects who were apparently undeterred by the death and arrest of
their partners in crime continued until they met their water loo last Friday,
following their subsequent arrest by policemen attached to Festac
Division.

The
suspects, as gathered, carried out a successful operation and fled the scene
before the arrival of the policemen. But acting on a tip off, one o f them was
reportedly arrested and his confessional statement led to the arrest of
others.

One
of the arrested suspects identified as Oghenero Udugba, was discovered to be a
staff of Ojo local government in Lagos State. The 25-year-old school certificate
holder, in this interview, denied indulgence in any operation with the gang,
revealing that all he did was to rent his motorcycle to the gang.

Hear
him, “ I am not a robber. I have never robbed in my life. If you call me a
thief, I will not deny that because I have stolen my parent’s money several
times . But robbery, no,no,no. I am a cultist . I belong to Aro confraternity. I
am the cult’s strike- man. I only deal with opposition cults anytime there is
fracas”.

Asked
why he was fingered, he responded, “ I am a member of the |Task force on Okada
in Ojo local government and I have two motorbikes which I rent out for
commercial purposes.

I
usually rent it to one Friday, who unfortunately, is not here. I was made to
understand he is the head of the gang and he usually came for it anytime he and
members of his gang were going out on operation”

Asked
if he knew Friday as a robber, he kept mute and gave a blank stare.

Unlike
the Delta state born Oghenero, another member of the gang who identified himself
as Samuel Joseph, disclosed that he joined the gang two years ago solely for the
purpose of making enough money that would help him get a shop and start up a
business.

The
Bayelsa state-born suspect who looked so pensive, blamed himself for what he was
going through , regretting not to have quit when the thought of it initially
struck him.

Said
he, “ I was initiated into the gang last year and have gone on operation ten
times with the gang. We operated between Mile -Two and Ajagbandi. I really do
not know how much we make in a day because I am not the gang leader. But I was
always given a reasonable share of the loot.

What
we usually did was to rent a motorcycle (okada) depending on our number. For
instance, if we are six or four, we would rent two and if we are eight , we
would either rent three or four. We do not usually stay in one location.

We
would spread ourselves along the route and our leader would have told us when to
leave. We only strike whenever traffic has built up. We would go from car to
car, with guns and other weapons that would scare our victims. I have never
raped any lady in the course of an operation.

After
operation , we would go to our base around Okokomaiko , from where we would all
tender the loots to our leader, Jeda, who would count and give us our share. I
was tempted to continue after I got N10,000 from the first operation. I have
made over N250,000 since I joined the gang, out of which I bought two
motorcycles.

I
usually rent one of them to my gang for operation at the end of which they would
add to my normal share. My plan was to make more money to rent a shop and buy
tools with which to enhance my generator repairer work, after which I would
quit”.

On
his part, another suspect, Enitan Durojaye, a 22 -year-old from Edo state
stated, “I am the gang’s armorer . I once escaped arrest last year where members
of my gang were arrested. My job is simple,

I
keep the gang’s weapons in our compound for safety. After each operation, I
would wrap them with a cloth, put them inside a polythene bag before hiding it.
Sometimes, I hid it in the ceiling and at other times, I would hide them where
they usually kept unused items. Anytime they collect and return the guns, they
would give me N15,000. Honestly, I do not rob with them, I only keep the guns
for them”.

For
Idowu Eguaikede, he wondered why he would be arrested having left the gang last
year. He claimed to be the gang’s former armorer but was sacked when the guns in
his possession suddenly disappeared. According to him, “ I have never gone on
any operation with them since the loss because they barred me from the
gang.

The
only thing is that anytime I stumbled on either of them, they usually gave me
money . I wonder why they implicated me when they were arrested because since
last year, I have not gone on operation with them”, asked the perplexed school
drop out. The suspects, as gathered, would be charged to court soon.

Source; Vanguard