The Nation Newspaper

Category: Crime Diary

  • How we broke into Omisore’s house, raped his maid – Chadian robbery suspects

    How we broke into Omisore’s house, raped his maid – Chadian robbery suspects

    Four suspected members of a robbery gang made up of Chad nationals have been arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command after allegedly carrying out an attack on the Ikoyi, Lagos home of the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

    A police source told our correspondent that the suspects stormed the senator’s house at No. 11, Thomson Avenue, Ikoyi at about 2 am on June 18, 2014 and used an iron cutter to cut the electrified wire on top of the fence before they jumped into the compound, raping a housemaid and stealing valuable items.

    Once they had gained entry, they were said to have bound the two security men that guided the house with ropes and told a member of the gang named Musa to watch over the security guards. With one of the iron cutters in their possession, they cut the burglary proof on the door and gained entry into the house.

    They were also said to have pointed a gun at the housemaid and ordered her to undress. The hapless housemaid was said to have been reluctant in carrying out the invaders’ instruction, following which they became angry and beat her mercilessly, tearing her clothe and stripping her naked before assaulting her sexually.

    The poor housemaid was said to have been left unconscious by the robbers who also ransacked the rooms. The Senator, who is based in Abuja and currently campaigning for the governorship seat of Osun State, was said not to be at home at the time the robbers struck. A member of his domestic staff was said to have made a distress call to the Ikoyi Police Station whose men responded promptly and got to the house before the invaders could escape.

    Noticing the arrival of policemen, the robbers were said to have opened fire to scare them away and facilitate their escape, but the police responded with superior fire power, wounding one of the robbers and arresting him while the three others escaped.

    The police were said to have the suspect with bullet wound for treatment, after which he was transferred to SARS on June 19 for discreet investigation. The Commissioner of police, Mr. Umar Manko, was also said to have instructed the officer in charge of SARS, Mr. Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police, to ensure that the fleeing suspects did not escape from the state or the country.

    Kyari and members of his special squad were said to have swung into action immediately, tracking down one of the suspects named Mohammed at Epe, a suburb of Lagos. Mohammed then led them to the hideout of another member of the gang named Ibrahim Abdulahi.

    Upon interrogation, Abdullahi was said to have disclosed that a member of the gang had escaped to Ibafo, an Ogun community not far away from Lagos. He was said to have led some SARS operatives to Ibafo but the suspected member of the gang opened fire on the policemen as they were approaching their hideout. The police again responded with superior fire power and cordoned off the whole area. Unknown to the police team, some other robbers lived in the house and had hid themselves in the ceiling.

    Upon entering the house, the policemen notice some strange noise in the ceiling and opened fire on the ceiling, wounding one of them in the process and arresting another without any bullet wound. The one without injury, Jidoh Sale, was immediately put in handcuffs while the one with injury was rushed to the hospital where he gave up the ghost.

    A search carried out on the uncompleted building was said to have led to the recovery of three big iron cutters, two red hand gloves, assorted charms, a chisel, a machete, a nail remover, two screw drivers, a torch, three different identity cards, voter ID cards, two Man O’ War ID cards belonging to Mohammed Yusuf and Ali Yawarb, a pen knife, a hammer and two locally made pistols.

    Confessing his involvement in the operations of the gang, one of the suspects, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said: “I am 29 years old. I am a foreigner from Amtima village in Chad. I came to Nigeria in 2010 in search of greener pastures. After three months, I secured a security job in a company in Anthony Village (Lagos). After few months, I was sacked and I went to stay with my brother at Ajah, a suburb of Lagos. I later returned to Chad to take a second wife with the little money I had saved from security work.

    “My problem started when I came back from Chad and there was no money for me to eat and feed my wives. I was thinking about how to survive when Mohammed Sale, who is still at large over his involvement in several robbery operations in Ajah and its environs, came to me with thousands of naira on him. I saw the money on him and begged him to help me, even if it was with a small amount as loan.

    “He promised to help me to get out of my financial problems. But he said he would not give me fish but will take me to the high sea to fish and eat as much fish as I wanted. I told him that a hungry would not understand riddles and that he should speak to me in plain language so that I would understand him. He then asked me to follow him.

    “He took me to Senator Omisore’s house, saying that he would put me at the gate. He said that two other people would join us later. He also told me that as soon as the work started, they would tie the two security men in the Senator’s house and that my role was to guard the security men and be the gang’s eyes while they would go inside the house to work.

    “At about 10 pm, we went to Obalende area and hid ourselves in the flower. There the two others came to join us. Around 2 am, we trekked to the Senator’s house at No.11, Thomson Avenue Ikoyi, armed with two guns, cutters and charms, among other items.

    “When we got to the house, we used a cutter to cut the electrified wire on the fence, climbed the wall and jumped inside the compound. Two dogs wanted to harass us but one of us, Mosale, pursued them. That made the two security men to wake up, as they wondered why the dogs were barking. The dogs continued to bark, showing that there were strangers in the compound, but they did not know what to do. It was while they were thinking of what they would do that Musa and Jidoh used guns to order the two security men to lie down and tied them with ropes. We then went inside the house and ransacked all the rooms.

    “We carried clothes, shoes and other things. We only spent 20 minutes. We collected a fine wrist watch and a phone. There were four of us: myself, Mosale, Idris and Mohammed Sale, but I did not join in raping the housemaid. I have two wives and three children. I cannot rape. I only wanted to get money to feed my family.

    “If I had got enough money to do business, I would not have been interested in armed robbery. Look at me, I cannot rape. If the housemaid recovers and we go for identification parade, you will see that I am telling you the truth. Not every armed robber is a beast. I don’t take hard drug. I am conscious and mentally alert every day. I don’t drink or smoke too much because it is very risky to lose control of your senses during a robbery operation. So, count me out from those who raped the housemaid.

    “Idris and Mohammed are still at large. One of our members died when we exchanged fire with SARS operatives at Ibafo.”

    Asked why Chadians enter Nigeria in droves, he said: “Our people come to Nigeria to do one job or the other. Nigeria is our best hope of greener pastures abroad. Some come with their cattle while some come to do security work in private homes and companies.

    “About 50 Chadians come to Nigeria every day to do one thing or the other, but half of us engage in armed robbery because Nigerians have many rich people and they keep big money in their cars and in their houses.

    “Whatever work we do in Nigeria gives us money with which we do reasonable things like building houses, farming and educating our children. There is a lot of money in Nigeria. Those who engage in armed robbery do so to get quick money and go back to Chad. Some do it because it is faster, but they do not kill their victims unless there is exchange of fire, because they do not carry gun for fun. They carry guns so that they can escape if they are challenged.

    “The primary aim of carrying gun is not to kill their victims but to protect themselves and to enable them escape from serious danger during and after operation. Nobody likes to kill his fellow human being just like that.

    “If I am released, I will relocate to Chad and do farming and other jobs to feed my family. I will not rob again. It was financial problems that made me to join them to rob. We are all from Chad.”

    The second suspect said: “My name is Mohammed Musa. I am 26 years old from Amdam village in Chad Republic.

    “When I came to Niegeria some years back, I secured a security job at Living Word Church, Ajah on a monthly salary of N15,000. I was on temporary appointment with the church. When I finished the job, I went to live with Ibrahim at Ajah..

    I was facing hard times in Ajah because I had no work. I had no money while Ibrahim was going out to rob and come back with a lot of money and handsets. I became jealous and begged him to allow me to follow him to his money spinning work.

    “I was still owing the Igbo man who helped me to cross to Nigeria and get security work in the church. When I was working in the church, he used to help me to get manual jobs that fetched me N1,500 every day, out of which he got a commission of N500. When I left the church, he did not know that I had relocated to Ajah, so he was still calculating the money I was supposed to be giving him every day.

    “Later, Ibrahim permitted me to follow him to do armed robbery and I celebrated it. Our gang leader is Mohammed Saleh, who is still at large.”

    Asked how he managed to get somebody to help him to cross from Chad to Nigeria without the necessary papers, he said: “If you have the papers, you can cross. But if you don’t have them, is it not somebody who will help you to cross? Money is involved at every step and I did not have the money.

    “Even when somebody helps you to cross, getting work and accommodation in Nigeria is not easy because you don’t know the country you are going to very well. You can be arrested for wandering.

    “I am not yet married. I had planned to get married after two or three robbery operations but luck was against me. I put my trust charms, not knowing that I would be confronted by SARS operatives. They rendered my charms useless.”

    The third suspect, Jidoh Sale, said: “I am 31 years old. I came with cattle from Chad. My wife is in Chad. I was arrested from one room in Ibafo. I have a room there in an uncompleted building. Area boys used to come there to collect money from every tenant. We do not know the landlord of the house till date.

    “I know that criminals live in the house. But for me to continue to live there, I have to mind my business. It is highly risky to report criminals to the police when you are living in the same place with them.

    “It was Zachariah who came into my room and told me that policemen were everywhere with powerful rifles and that their eyes could scare even a lion, so I decided to run. Unfortunately, I ran into one of the SARS operatives who had a rifle. He ordered me to stop or he would shoot me dead. I fell short of words and fell down in shock.

    “I shouted and pleaded with him not to kill me when he told me that I was playing tricks the way I fell down. He came closer to me and ordered another operative at my back to handcuff me and take me to their vehicle, which they parked near the road.

    “I know Ibrahim Abdullahi. We entered the ceiling together and jumped down together. We took different directions. I would have escaped if I had followed him.”

    Contact for comment, the Media Director, Omisore Campaign Organisation, Mr. Diran Odeyemi confirmed that the robbery took place in June. But he said it had not come to the knowledge of the governorship aspirant that the perpetrators of the act had been arrested.

    “You are the one that is just telling us about their arrest,” he told our correspondent on Thursday.

  • Pastor’s stolen bible lands robbery suspects in police net

    Pastor’s stolen bible lands robbery suspects in police net

    A bible found with a robbery suspect has led to the arrest of five others by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command. The holy book in question was said to have been found with 32-year-old Monday Patrick, leading to the arrest of five other suspected members of a robbery gang, namely Adeagbo Michael, Ismaila Kareem a.k.a. Asmuo, Odu John, Nwoke Promise and Ifeoluwa Coker.

    A police source told our correspondent that the owner of the bible, Pastor Adesoye Zaccheaus of Unity Estate, Igando, Lagos had reported to the police that as he was driving his car into his compound at about 8 pm on May 26, he was accosted by two armed men who forced him to move to the back seat before driving off to the road that leads to the Lagos State University.

    At a point on the road, they pushed him out of the vehicle and drove off to an unknown destination. Pastor Zaccheaus then went to Idimu police station to report the incident. SARS operatives reported the matter to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, who directed the officer in charge of SARS, Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police, to take over the case and fish out the culprits.

    The complainant led SARS operatives to Oko Filling area of Igando where Monday Patrick and Michael Adeagbo were arrested. An instant search conducted at the building where they were arrested revealed two pairs of army uniform and a black bag containing the documents of the car that was snatched.

    The two suspects were taken to the Scorpion House headquarters of SARS at GRA, Ikeja, Lagos where they confessed that the robbery operation was carried out by Adeagbo and Ismaila Kareem a.k.a. Asmuo, and that the vehicle, a Toyota Camry, was with Kareem.

    Kareem was said to have been arrested at Iyana-Oworo area of Lagos. He corroborated the statements of the suspects and also named one John Odu as the receiver of the snatched car. Odu, who pretended that he was in Port Harcourt, was later caught at Ikotun area of Lagos while trying to receive another snatched vehicle from the same Asmuo, who was promptly arrested. Asmuo confessed that he snatched the vehicle but that it had been sold to a Port Harcourt-based customer named Promise Nwoke. Nwoke was later arrested and the vehicle was recovered.

    Asumuo also claimed that he sold one Toyota Camry to one Desmond Iwerem and one Ifeoluwa Coker in Ondo State while Desmond is still at large.

    Monday Patrick’s father was said to be the owner of the house the operatives searched and recovered a gun. The building is located on Emmanuel Street, a slum where some boys were found smoking Indian hemp. It was there the police discovered a bible bearing the pastor’s name.

    Narrating his role in the robbery operation, Monday Patrick said: “I don’t know my age. I only remember that I was born in 1982 in Ibilo village, Akoko Edo Local Government Area of Edo State. I trained as a fashion designer.

    “I knew Michael through my work. He came to my shop to meet me with a black bag. When he came, I was busy working and he just dropped the bag and left immediately. He did not come back until three days later.

    “I had become worried and wanted to know what was inside the bag. I thought it was a cloth he had brought for me to sew. Surprisingly, when I opened the bag, I found a gun, books and a big bible. I started looking for him.

    “I smoke Indian hemp, but I have not stolen a pin form anyone. I am happily married with a child. I smoke (Indian hemp) twice a day; once before I start work and once at the close of work.

    “I used to sew clothes for him and we are close friends. He gave me phones whenever he had no cash to pay. But that had happened only two times.

    “When I saw the pastor’s bible, I liked it because it is big. I took it from the bag. When his mother heard that SARS operatives were combing the area, she picked the gun and went to the backyard to hide it.”

    The second suspect, who was said to have gone to prison several times, Adeagbo Michael (29), a native of Ile-Ife, Osun State, said: “I live at No. 27 Emmanuel Street, Governors Road, Ikotun. I am an okada (commercial motor cycle) rider.

    “Somebody gave me a bike on hire purchase and robbers snatched it from me. The owner of the bike took me to the police, alleging that I was the thief. I was charged to court and later sent to the Kirikiri Maximum prison on remand.”

    Asked how he snatched the pastor’s bag, he said: “We were two: Desmond and I. The pastor was coming back from work on that Monday. We took positions and waited for the man to come down. As he came down to open the gate, we rushed towards him.

    “We overpowered him and carried him into the car. He had only N1,000 on him. I took the money. When we wanted to push him out of the car, I gave him N400 for transport. We took him inside the car to stop him from shouting.

    “I was the one who brought the gun. I brought it from my village. Nobody taught me how to rob. It was when they seized my motorcycle that I became jobless. I did not know the pastor before. I just said let us take a stroll and look for something to snatch. Asmuo did not give me a kobo after selling it.

    “As for the snatching of laptops, we operated four times. But the one of jewellery and handsets (phones) happened two times. It was Lucky and Kunle, who is now in prison, who did the work with me. Lucky was killed in an exchange of gunfire with the police.

    “I smoke marijuana (Indian hemp) once every evening. It was in the prison that I learnt how to rob. In the prison, there is no teacher for robbery lessons. Every inmate narrates his experience and others learn from it.”

    The third suspect, Ismaila Kareem a.k.a. Asmuo (27), is married with a kid and hails from Okitipupa in Ondo State. But he resides at Okoafo area of Badagry.

    “He said: “I used to see Michael at Oshodi market area where we rode okada together.I was the one that drove. When we got there, Michael showed the man a gun and put him at the back seat. We dropped him off at Igando area.

    “We had used a pipe gun to snatch a Jeep at Festac side. I did it with Michael. I do smuggling at the Seme border with a Volvo car. Michael told me that he had gone to the village to bring a gun. I am an ex-convict.”

    On why he sold the car without giving Michael a dime, he said: “We decided to be working with the car, but I later decided to sell it. I don’t know his house. He normally takes me to the nearest junction to where he is living for me to wait for him.

    “When I sold the car, I called him and told him that I had not collected the money. I sold the car for N290,000 at the New Garage, Ifako, Gbagada. I used the money to pay the balance of my house rent.

    “I went to Kirikiri prison for using a bike to snatch a bag. I used to operate on Victoria Island, Lagos. I spent two years and three months awaiting trial. A court in Ikeja discharged and acquitted me for want of prosecution as the investigating police officer was absent in court.”

    The fourth suspect, Odu John (39), a native of Ahoda, Rivers State, says he is married with four children and formerly worked with a construction company, Dredging Atlantic, in Port Harcourt. He said his appointment was terminated in 2010 no money was coming into the company and the staff were redundant.

    He said: “I was arrested in connection with the pastor’s car. The car was snatched and brought to me by Asmuo to buy. I knew Asmuo through one Kehinde. I knew that the car was snatched. The pastor’s car was bought for N290,000. Another Toyota Camry was bought for N180,000 and I resold it for N280,000 while the one of N290,000 was resold for N400,000.

    “I live at No. 10, Dele Street, Ikotun. I relocated to Lagos in March this year. I met Kehinde in a restaurant in Ikotun this year and it was he that introduced me to the gang. He said they normally got cars to sell.

    “I graduated in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt.”

    The fifth suspect, Nwoke Promise (36), says he sells juice and is married with four children.

    He said: “I live in my own house, which I built in Ikwere, Port Harcourt. I bought the car for my senior brother for N400,000. The pastor’s bible was inside a bag. John and I attended the same primary school. He told me that his friend who works in the Customs had a problem and wanted to sell his Camry car for N600,000, but I later paid N400,000.

    “I did not know his work after primary school. He called me on the phone at a restaurant at the University of Port Harcourt and told me that he worked with Charles Ugwu, the previous NDDC Chairman, and I believed him.”

    The sixth suspect, Ifeoluwa Coker (28), graduate of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, who majored in Biology Education, said that Demond was his guardian in the church where they worship in Akure.

    He said: “I am a member of the Buccaneer fraternity. I was arrested in respect of a Toyota Camry. I worship with a new generation church.

    “I joined the Buccaneer in 200 Level. I was threatened to join them because I helped them to do their class assignments.

    “I went to Akure to receive the car.”

  • Alleged sale of day-old baby lands nurses,native doctors in trouble

    Alleged sale of day-old baby lands nurses,native doctors in trouble

    A syndicate alleged to specialise in the sale of body parts of day-old babies by conspiring with nurses in hospitals has been smashed by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command. The nurses are believed to cause the death of the babies shortly after they are born, after which they sell the bodies to a syndicate consisting of ritual killers and native doctors.

    Rilwan Saula (39) was arrested along with five other suspects, namely Bolaji Fagbemi (38), a trado-medical nurse in training; Lasisi Olayinka (40), also a nurse in the same hospital as Olayinka; Alhaji Surajudeen Faronbi (55), who claimed to be a native doctor; Taofeek Abidakun (41), another native doctor who claims to buy human parts to prepare his medicine and Akindele Majiyagbe (50), who insisted that the parts found with him were those of a bird and not a human being.

    A police source told our reporter: “On the 18th of June this year, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Abubakar Manko, got information that some criminals comprising a native doctor and two nurses at a certain hospital in Alagbado, Lagos had murdered a day-old baby and were about to use the body for money making rituals.

    “As a result, CP Manko directed the officer in charge of SARS, Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police (SP), to act immediately. Hence, operatives led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ade Adetarami were deployed there to play along with the criminals, which led to the arrest of a native doctor named Alhaji Sikiru. Also arrested were Bolaji Fagbemi and Lasisi Olayinka, while the corpse of the day-old baby girl was found with one Saula Rilwan, a trado-medical nurse. The suspect confessed to the offence and took SARS detectives to the affected hospital.”

    The police source said that Saula further stated that a nurse in the said hospital, named Bolaji Fagbemi, sold the baby to him for money making ritual and claimed that it was with the knowledge of the management of the hospital.

    The confessions of Saula was said to have led to the arrest of other suspects, namely Alhaji Surajudeen Faronbi, who was allegedly arrested with two human heads, Taofeek Abidakun, who was said to have been arrested with one human head and one Akindele Majiyagbe.

    The source further revealed that further investigation was still being conducted into the matter while others who were still at large, especially those that are based in Abule Egba, Ahmadiyya, Ijaiye Ojokoro and Sango areas, were being hunted by the police.

    The police source said the corpse of the day-old baby was being kept in the mortuary along with other human parts that were found with the suspects, saying that they would be helpful in the prosecution of the suspects.

    In his confession, Saula, one of the suspects, said: “I am a 39-year-old native of Yewa, Ogun State. But I reside at Church Street, Ijaiye Ojokoro, Alimosho Local Government Area. I have three children.

    “I sell herbs at Agege Main Market. In 2005, police arrested us and I left the market and became an alfa. I cure stroke and any illness that orthodox medicine cannot cure.

    “I started selling human parts at the time I was selling herbs. At that time, two boys came to me to learn work, but I did not accept them. The two boys came last month and said they needed human parts. They said they had gone to a native doctor but they needed two heads for the medicine to work. They gave me N20,000, but I did not do it.

    “Bolaji, my customer, who works as a nurse in the hospital, called me and said that she had the body of a baby who had just died. I asked her where the mother was and she said the mother had given it to her to throw away. She said the baby was only 24 hours old.”

    On her part, Bolaji, a native of Ikire, Osun State, said: “I am a nurse. I gave him (Saula) the baby. I was given the baby by the mother to throw away. I am married with four children.”

    Asked why the baby in question died, Bolaji said: “I am a trainee nurse and I am not on salary. I am learning traditional nursing. Pregnant women give birth in the hospital. The baby was an imbecile and was sick. She was not normal.

    “The baby did not even cry when she was born. I did not collect money from him (Saula). The parents of the baby are Muslims and Saula is also a Muslim. Therefore I gave the dead baby to him to go and bury because the way Muslims do their burial is different from the way Christians do theirs.

    The third suspect, Yinka, said: “I am a trado-medical nurse in the hospital. I am nine years in trado-medicine practice. I am from Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. I am the nurse that took delivery of the baby.

    “The baby died within 24 hours of delivery. I called the father on the phone and he told me that he was not around. He said I could call any member of the family. When the family member I called came, I told him that the baby was dead. He said he did not know the cemetery where he would bury the child.

    “I called Nurse Bolaji to know whether she knew a cemetery where the baby could be buried and she said she would help to throw away the dead child. He gave her N500 for transport.

    “When the director of our hospital came, he asked me why I did that without consulting him. He later asked me to give the body of the baby to the sister of the mother in his presence. The director then told Bola to help them throw the dead baby away since she claimed to know the dustbin where the child could be thrown into.

    “The baby had come out alive, but she had three toes. I told the mother the position of her baby and also called the husband to come and see the baby’s fingers. I told the husband to come and take the child to a better hospital. Water and blood were coming out of the child’s nose and mouth, but the father said I should leave it to God.”

    The fourth suspect, Taofeek, said: “I am a native doctor. I have never bought human parts. I am from Igbese in Ogun State, married with five children. I am a spiritualist with two wives. I practice in Ogun State.

    “I sold igun (vulture) parts, not human parts.”

    The fifth suspect, Majiyagbe, said: “I am 50 years old. I am just a bricklayer. I am married with three children. I gave Saula N18,000 to buy a live partridge to do a job for me. But when he was arrested, he mentioned me as one of his customers because he had been threatening to kill me.

    The sixth suspect, Faronbi, said: “I am 53. I am from Abeokuta, Ogun State. I am a traditional doctor. I cure long-term wounds and madness. I inherited the job. Any human bone bought from the market can be used to prepare powerful drugs that can cure difficult illnesses.

    “I bought pieces of heads two times from Saula. The first time I paid N4,000 and the second one was N4,500. The total money I gave him was N8,500. I have been buying pieces of human heads to make traditional medicine.

    “I have never bought the full head of a human being. I buy the eyes, ears, noses, tongues and necks. They are very cheap.”

  • ‘We robbed motorists with fake police ID cards’

    ‘We robbed motorists with fake police ID cards’

    THE leader of a suspected four-man highway robbery gang, Charly Ebube, 42, has said that his gang robbed innocent motorists on highways by flashing fake police identity cards.

    Ebube, a.k.a. Chairman, a native of Isele-Asaba, Delta State, was believed to have led other suspects, including John Ogaba, a.k.a. General (43), Olawale Aminu (49), a native of Owode Obafemi, Ogun State, and Chidozie Aniekwe (29) from Arondizuogu, Imo State to terrorise travellers and rob them of money and valuable items.

    A police source said that Charly, who is now cooling his heels in the cell of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command, recruited the other members of the gang. He was said to have paraded himself as a police constable with a fake police identity card and force number 7425. He was also said to have claimed that he once functioned as a police spy attached to Johnson and Johnson Company in Ajao Estate, Lagos.

    He was said to have claimed that he left Johnson and Johnson Company because of poor salary and desire to get rich quick.

    Their gang’s mode of operation, according to the police source, was to go to the highways in a car and use fake police identity cards to stop any vehicle they intended to rob. They were said to have confessed that they operated on the highways in Abuja, Ile-Ife, Osogbo, Lagos and Ibadan. Once they had information that a vehicle was conveying traders who were going to buy goods, they would wait for the vehicle at a certain point on the highway.

    Once the vehicle arrived, the leader of the gang would bring out his fake police identity card and flash it to the driver, meaning that he should  stop. They would do as if they were policemen on patrol. They would ask the driver and any other person in the vehicle to alight after which they would ransack the vehicle, removing money, mobile phones and other valuable items  before zooming off.

    At other times, they would push the driver and other occupants of the vehicle out and run away with the vehicle. And whenever they needed to escape after an operation, they would divide themselves into two groups. One group would enter their operational vehicle, while the other two would enter a commercial vehicle because the police might have been informed that four armed robbers had just robbed and escaped in a vehicle.

    Each of them went to each operation with two or three different clothes, so that after an operation, they would change into another dress to avoid being recognized by anyone who had seen them earlier.

    Charly was said to be responsible for recruiting new members into the gang and was always the first to take his share of the gang’s loot before he would hand the rest over to Ogaba to share with the remaining members, as directed by Charly.

    Ogaba claimed that he was awaiting his ordination as a pastor in one of the new generation churches in Lagos after he completed pastoral training in a church. He said he was still a house leader pending the day he would be ordained as a pastor. Chidozie, on his part, was a bus driver before he joined the gang. Altogether, the gang was said to have carried out about 15 operations before they met their waterloo.

    Confessing his role in the gang, Charly said: “I was a trader before I became an armed robber. I live at No. 8 Zone B, Odono Elewe, Ibadan, Oyo State. I have a house in Ibadan. I was building a 12-room hotel in my village before it was destroyed by people who were fighting over the land.

    “I was arrested during a robbery operation. We did not know that the operatives of the SARS were trailing us. As we reached where we wanted to do the operation and came down from our vehicle, they pounced on us and arrested us.

    “We were not using guns. We were using fake police ID cards to stop any vehicle we intended to rob. We pretended to be police officers on patrol. Once we saw a vehicle we wanted to rob, we would flash the fake ID cards for the driver to stop. We robbed only on highways, particularly when we got information that a trader was carrying a large sum of money or had just sold his goods and was taking the money home or to the bank.

    “Each of us went to operation with three different clothes to enable us to disguise after an operation. I have a three-bedroom flat in Ibadan.

    “It was not in every operation that we got something. I bought a Space Wagon car for N388,000, and also bought a Nissan Micra for my wife for N300,000. I bought one Mikano generator which I use in my house.

    “Each time my wife sought to know where I used to go to for two or three nights, I would tell her that I went on a business trip to Tin Can Island, Apapa, Lagos, and she would believe me. I have four children. I opened a beer parlour for my wife at Ibadan with N1.5 million.

    “I was introduced to robbery by one Egbo Lance. He has since travelled to South Africa or Italy after one successful robbery operation we did together. I took charge when he travelled abroad and started recruiting new members.

    “After 10 operations, any member is free to back out, so far he swears to an oath not to betray the gang or return to it if he is broke.”

    Asked if he had any regrets, Charly said: “My wife will not be happy to hear that my friends and I were arrested for armed robbery. I used to tell her that they were my business partners. I had wanted to resign after building a hotel, but I changed my mind when the hotel was demolished.

    “If I regain my freedom, I will never engage in robbery again. It is better to be poor than to be arrested for armed robbery. I am finished. Please tell my wife and children that I am a victim of circumstances. Don’t tell them that their father is an armed robber.”

    The second suspect, Ogaba, said: “I am a pastor. I completed a pastoral training, but I am yet to be ordained. I only head a house fellowship.

    “I was into transportation and trading before I met Charly who lured me into his gang in July 2011. My role in the gang was to act as an assistant to Charly.

    “I joined the gang in order to get money to buy land and build my own house, so that I could give a testimony. Other people in the church had been giving testimonies, but I could not give any after the many years I had spent as a member.

    “Another thing that made me to join a robbery gang was that between 2011 and 2013, I passed through some horrible financial problems caused by family illnesses. My sons and daughters became seriously sick and the hospitals gave me very high bills that consumed all the money I had.

    “We operated from Monday to Friday. We would be on the highway looking for victims while on Saturdays, we would go home to see our families. Sometimes our vehicle would break down and we would have to go and repair it for two days.

    “We used to lodge in  an  hotel in the Sango area of Ibadan, but the hotel’s management did not know that we were armed robbers because we disguised as responsible men any time we went there to lodge. We used to take the rooms that were very close to the backyard. We would not go to the bar to avoid meeting people who would know us.”

    The third suspect, Olawale, who claimed to have five children, said: “What is paining me now is that my wife does not know that I am an armed robber. If she gets to know that I have been arrested, she will become hypertensive. I am the gang’s operational driver. I drive a Nissan Primera car painted in police colour with police stickers on the windscreen.

    “It is our chairman, Charly, who holds the fake police ID card. He is the commander of the gang and he flashed it to the driver of any vehicle  we intended to stop and rob. I joined the gang in December last year. I was riding okada (commercial motorcycle) before I joined the gang last year.

    “It was the accommodation problem that took me to Charles for help. I saw him as a very generous rich man. He used to give me N2,000 to go and drink and eat pepper soup every week.

    “When I had  the problem, I met him and he promised to help me solve my problem  and even set me free from poverty. He told me where to meet him so that together we could go to Tin Can Island, Apapa, Lagos to do business. I did not know that we were going to rob on the highways.

    “When they started operation, I was surprised. But I could not do anything because they would kill me if I acted funny. Most importantly, I needed money desperately to solve my accommodation problem. Unfortunately, the money I got after the first operation made me think of going to more operations.

    “Even the first time he asked me to come and see him at the hotel, he asked whether I could drive and I thought he wanted to give me a commercial bus to drive for him. I did not know that he was preparing me for a robbery operation.

    “It was when I was arrested that my eyes opened. Even when he gave me a Nissan Premeira car, I thought it was for commercial purposes until he asked me to slow down on a highway and he flashed his ID card to the driver of a vehicle. When the driver parked, they asked to park in front of the vehicle. They came down and went to the vehicle. I was asked to sit in the vehicle while they went to do the job. When they had finished with the vehicle, they joined me and we zoomed off.

    “I operated with the gang more than six times. From the first operation, I got N90,000. The second operation fetched me N55,000 and the third one N10,000. But I got nothing from the fourth, fifth and sixth operations, while we were arrested during the seventh one.”

    The fourth suspect, Chidozie, who said he was born in 1955 and hails from Arondizogu, Ideato LGA, Imo State said: “I drive commercial bus. I reside at No. 53 Owodunni Street by Orile. I have a wife and two children. My wife left me because I had not done the marriage rites.

    “The owner of the LT bus I was driving bought it with hire purchase and when I could not meet up with the sum agreed as daily returns, he collected the bus from me. I became jobless and my family started suffering hunger and starvation.

    “That was the situation I was when I met Charles and Ogaba at Alafia Bus Stop in Orile Iganmu, Lagos. My only regret is that I had planned to quit the gang after the last operation in which we were arrested.

    “I would not have been arrested if I had listened to my wife because she had told me that she dreamt that policemen arrested me during one of my business trips. I did not tell her that my business was highway robbery.”

  • Woman killed over inheritance

    Woman killed over inheritance

    Mr. Rotimi Fambegbe , 57, an estate agent is grieving over the death of  his wife, Olayemi Fambegbe , 53, who was allegedly brutally killed by her first cousin,  Mrs.Foluke Orobola Akinkuade  (Adefenisaye) and her daughter, Miss Damola Banner, over a property in Ondo Town . Taiwo Abiodun reports.

    ROTIMI Fambegbe looked dispirited when The Nation visited him. He shook his head and said, “What pained me most was that my late wife was childless. We were all consoling her telling her to trust in God that God can still do it as He did it for the Biblical Hannah and Sarah. She was not fighting over property as she was contended and comfortable. I never knew the suspects could deal this fatal blow on her.”

    The property in dispute was said to belong to the deceased’s late grandmother. The argument over who should be in charge of the property led to the gruesome murder of  Olayemi .

    According to Rotimi , his late wife Mrs. Olayemi was a former staff of the National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC). He claimed she was a gentle woman who could not hurt a fly but since she had no child of hers she was being taunted, jeered at by her cousin and called male duck because of her childlessness while living in her grandmother’s house.

    Rotimi further said the property is a – one -storey building of about eight rooms which is located at  10, Alo Street in Ondo Town. He stated that the building was bequeathed to his late wife and her cousin, Mrs  Akinkuade) whose daughter , Damola Banner lives with the same house .

    Rotimi said he was aware that there was no love lost between his late wife and her cousin over who should control the eight rooms in the building.

    In his own words, “My late wife was the older sister and always complained that her cousin was not cooperating with her over the building they inherited from their grandmother .The suspects , Foluke and her daughter ( Damola ) always taunted my late wife, calling her names and saying she is a barren woman that did not deserve to have property since she was childless.  But each time I went there I always told them that my wife decided to stay in the controversial building because that was her decision and it was not that I wanted it like that .But the suspects (Foluke and Damola) always made jest of her. And my late wife always warned them to stop. I had gone there several times to settle rifts. It was like the suspect was arrogant as she worked in the Ondo West Local government Area office. She became bossy to the tenants of the house while my late wife would always tell her to be humble and emulate Christ’s humility.”

    Rotimi spoke further, “My wife was said to have been allegedly stabbed with broken bottles by Foluke while her daughter, Damola, was said to have stabbed her with knife in the stomach. Her neck was wounded along with her two legs .But when the suspected assailants saw that the deceased had slumped and was bleeding, they quickly rushed her to a local clinic where she was said to have given up the ghost on arrival. She was, therefore, rejected and referred to a general hospital. Instead of taking the deceased to the general hospital, the suspects brought her back home and dropped her.  The two suspects fled and went into hiding .It was one  Baba Ibeji whose wife was a tenant there that went to report at the police station .The case was reported at Enuowa Police station , Ondo , while the case was  later transferred to the homicide department , Police Headquarters in Akure. The two suspects have since disappeared and are now declared wanted by the police.”

    According to Rotimi, the corpse was deposited at the State Specialist Hospital mortuary for three months after a postmortem had been carried out. .”The body was released to me later for burial, while she was buried early this month”, he said in tears.

    Rotimi went down memory lane and narrated how he met his late wife in 1988 and got married to her. In his words: “When we met in 1988, we were both advanced in age , we courted briefly and quickly got married in 1990 .She gave birth in the year 2000 but the baby died at the age of two  after a brief illness in 2002. We tried to have another child but none was forthcoming .We went to hospitals , made several efforts to make sure she had a child of her own but all these did not yield anything .Later I went to marry another lady that gave me children,  which annoyed her and made her to pack out from our matrimonial home and went to be living in her grandmother’s house at , 10,Alo Street, Ondo .We did not separate. We were still husband and wife .I used to see her every day., She used to prepare my food everyday .Though I later had children from another lady but that did not stop our relationship. We used to see every day until that fateful Sunday in March when she was killed”.

     

     

  • Why I robbed in church – Suspect

    Why I robbed in church – Suspect

    A robbery suspect, who specialises in attacking churches and vigil returnees, has been arrested by the operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command.

    Explaining why he targeted churches for his robbery operations, Michael Gbotemi, an 18-year-old indigene of Ibadan, Oyo State said: “I rob Christians when they are doing vigil because I know that they fear the gun more than Muslims do.”

    Gbotemi said although he attended a Muslim primary school, he is a devout Christian. But he said he could not go to secondary school or the university in spite of being a brilliant pupil because his parents were very poor and he had no relations who could sponsor his education.

    He said: “I have been attending church services right from my childhood, and I know that Christians fear more than Muslims in violent situations because of the differences in their religious doctrines. They (Christians) are ready to part with their property or money instead of putting up resistance whenever they are attacked by armed robbers. It is one of the reasons that gave me the courage to rob in churches. Moreover, in the mosque, they don’t close their eyes when they are praying.

    “While I had successfully robbed people who were going to vigil or returning home from it, my first attempt at robbing people inside a church in Lagos ended in my arrest by the SARS, from where I was charged to court.”

    Speakig further on his background, Gbotemi said: “When I had nobody to sponsor my education, I started learning to become a motor mechanic. Initially, I found it difficult to get a workshop because before one is allowed to become an apprentice, there is a certain amount of money that one must pay the owner of the workshop. Unfortunately I could not afford even half the amount. So, for many months, I could not get a place to learn auto mechanic because of the financial problem.

    “But God answered my prayer one day when I met a man named Caleb who allowed me to start learning without paying the usual fees. Unfortunately, Caleb died after three years and I left to look for another source of livelihood pending when I would get a new place to continue my apprenticeship.

    “I went to Taraba State and started mixing sand and cement for bricklayers. I worked with one Baba Ahmed for two good months. He promised to be paying me N700 per day, but for the two months I worked with him, he did not pay me a dime. He deceived me by telling me that he wanted to help me save enough money from my earnings which I could use to complete my auto mechanic apprenticeship. At the end of the day, he did not give me a dime. He only bought me food to give me strenght to  work for him.

    “His attitude frustrated me, and I decided to leave him and go to Lagos to find a way to survive. I had up to N7,000 in my pocket when I reached the Obalende Roundabout in Lagos. There were many auto mechanic workshops in Lagos, but my priority then was to find a place where I could sleep till I got enough money to rent a room. The place I found was under the bridge at the roundabout. There were more than 10 of us who were sleeping under the bridge. However, it was there that my journey into the world of crime that brought me to the SARS started. The first day, I slept comfortably, not knowing that the other boys were monitoring me.

    “When I woke up the first day, the first people I saw were women who were selling hot drinks and cigarettes, while some men hawked Indian hemp (marijuana). I don’t smoke, but I can drink anything drinkable.

    “My first baptism of fire in Obalende occurred on the second day when I woke up and discovered that the urchins under the bridge had stolen my money, while I was asleep. They took the money in my pocket and left only N200 there. That was the day I first tasted igbo (marijuana) to calm myself down. It was that experience that made me develop a mind for crime in order to survive.

    “I first called my mother and told her that I was in Obalende, Lagos and that thieves had stolen N2,500 I had on me, while I slept under the bridge at Obalende. As I was wandering about the neighbourhood, thinking of how to survive, I saw two children at a  square playing with toy guns and learning karate. I sat down and started watching them.

    “As they kept their toy guns and started practising karate, I cleverly went to where they kept their toy guns, stole one and ran away. I went to my place under the bridge and slept with the gun. When I woke up, I started thinking of how to rob with the toy gun, and that was how going to rob in the church came to my mind.

    “Hunger took better part of me, and I made up my mind to attack a church in the Igbosere area of Lagos. On that fateful night, I scaled the fence of a church. I nearly broke my leg when I jumped into the compound. I found many people sleeping. One of them raised his head and looked at me as if to ask who are you, but seeing my demeanour, he quickly went back to sleep.

    “I used the opportunity to collect their mobile phones, i-pads and money. Unfortunately, another person who I did not know had been monitoring me since I entered the church building discovered that I was removing people’s money and phones. He started shouting. I pointed my gun at the one who attempted to hold me, and he let me go.

    “Unfortunately, when I got to the gate, I could not pass. Neither could I jump over the fence because they were everywhere. The noise woke everybody in the neighbourhood up, and they discovered that I was holding a toy gun. They rushed towards me and arrested me. They later handed me over to the Lion Building Police Station. It was a Thursday.

    “The following Monday, they transferred me to the SARS where I became a born-again Christian when some people came to preach the gospel in the cell. They told me how Jesus Christ loved me and died for me and the need to repent and chart a new course. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal saviour and promised not to rob again in my life whether with a toy or real gun.

    “My plea is that the police should forgive me for committing armed robberies with a toy gun and that God should forgive me for committing a sacrilege.

    “If I am freed, I will go to Ibadan and start my mechanic work. I will not rob again. Take my picture. If I am ever arrested again with a toy or real gun, let them kill me. No sane person will go into the SARS’ cell and steal again after regaining his freedom. I will never rob again.”

  • Murder at dawn

    Murder at dawn

    Comrade Olalekan Lawal, a petroleum tanker driver was brutally murdered by suspected security operative for refusing to part with 500 naira. His remains had since been buried while members of his family and the Tankers Drivers Association are begging for justice. Taiwo Abiodun reports

    A tanker driver was shot dead for his refusal to cough out 500 naira allegedly demanded by a security officer attached to OPMESSA. The security officer in uniform allegedly brought out his rifle, corked it, at a close range pulled the trigger and shot the driver on his chest. The deafening sound disrupted the quiet night. The young man, Comrade Olalekan Lawal, immediately slumped as blood covered him all over.

    To cover up, the security officer, along with his colleagues, reportedly started shooting into the air to scare the deceased’s mates away. In a jiffy, the officers in uniform allegedly removed the pellets from the body of the fallen man apparently to prevent their being traced. Later, a mob gathered and angrily summoned courage to attack the security men who eventually fled the scene.  In their efforts to revive the driver and amidst the tension, none of the witnesses had the presence of mind to write down the registration number of the vehicle the OPMESSA operatives brought before they fled the scene.

    At the General Hospital, Isolo, in the course of The Nation ‘s investigation, the autopsy presented revealed that the victim was shot but the pellets that would have been embedded in him had been removed .

    The tragic event happened in the early morning of 25 April this year, precisely at 2am. The 34 year -old man, known as Comrade Lawal, had worked as a petroleum tanker for five years. He was said to have had a tall dream when he woke up the previous day, April 24. He was bubbling with enthusiasm and was with high hopes. He was preparing to host his friends and professional colleagues the following week for his birthday. He planned ahead, gave his wife money for it, and said goodbye to his three children and his wife who reside in Ibadan.  Little did he know that would be his last interaction with them.

    In the wee hours of April 25, his wife received a call that her husband was in the hospital. She was later told that he had been brutally murdered by a trigger-happy unknown security operative.

    According to  Comrade Tayo Aboyeji , the Zonal  Public Relations Officer  of the Petroleum Tankers Drivers Lagos Zonal Executive Council, ” I was called on that fateful morning around 2:30 am to tell me that one of the Operation MESSA  officers had shot dead one of our tanker drivers, Olalekan  Lawal, who refused to give them 500 naira  at the Coconut Park  along Apapa Road (Tin Can Island  Express Road).

    The deceased was said to have patiently waited for days until it was his turn to load the petroleum products and travel that night. However, after loading and on his way to his destination, a security officer from Operation MESSA  allegedly accosted him and asked  him to give  him some litres of petroleum for ‘testing’, according to their common parlance, meaning  he should pay 500 naira. This was said to be customary though illegitimate.

    The tanker driver, however, refused to pay. The security operative vowed to teach him a lesson for proving stubborn the officer opened fire and then shot him at a close range, hitting him on his chest while the sound attracted others. He fell down , but immediately he fell other soldiers were shooting sporadically into the air to scare sympathizes away.

    The fear, annoyance could not let anybody write down the number of the said vehicle while we could identify the assailant , it was the driver who was the next turn to the deceased on the line that saw all these and gave us the full details to  us. When the angry mob got  there  the soldiers had fled the place , While efforts were made to revive  him. He was taken to the Isolo General Hospital but before he got there, he had died.

    A rowdy riot and demonstration ensued but the personnel at the OPMESSA calmed us down and promised to dig into its root and fish out the culprit. We reported the case at the Trinity Police Station , Ajegunle -Apapa. From where we took the case to the the Naval office , NNS Beecroft. If I had not arrived that spot on that morning there could have been a riot.

    Since that Black day in April, everybody has been asking what could have made the assailant pumped hot lead into this young man’s heart?” For the family of the late Lekan and members of the Trailer Tankers Association, it has been a surprise that the officer who pulled the trigger has not been apprehended till now.

    Speaking to The Nations, his younger brother, Taiwo Samuel, who was drenched in tears, said “he was the family’s bread winner! His last child was three years old. He still has aged parents he was taking care of.

    Lekan’s corpse was later retrieved from the mortuary after an autopsy and he had  since been buried . His wife had gone to stay with her mother in a remote area in Ibadan because she said she would not be able to cope or live alone in the house the family were living before the death of her husband.

    Another cousin of the deceased, Saheed Samuel, said the news jolted them and hit them like thunderbolt. His words:” We all live in Ibadan and he comes to Apapa here to offload and drive his tanke,r not knowing this is what will end him. It is too bad for a man looking for his daily bread to be killed like that, it is bad. It is too sad .I was called to come to Lagos and appear before  his co-workers and comrades here to represent the family, for his wife and aged parents  cannot come”.

    The National PRO of the Petroleum Tankers Drivers (NUPENG branch), Comrade Atanda Adebayo fought back his tears and narrated how these security men used to force them to part with 500 naira, he said. Our member who was on his legitimate duty met his untimely death  when the officials of OP MESSA  shot him at a close range for  his refusal  to part with an  illegitimate fee of. 500naira, a practice which is common among the officials

    The National PRO also said ”We wish to bring  to the public notice, constant harassment ,brutalization  and extortion of our members by the officials of the Operation MESSA and the law enforcement agents , a situation which is already taken its tolls on us as a union.” He continued,” The circumstances leading to Olalekan’ s death was unfortunate  and unbearable to say the least. A situation whereby he was killed prematurely over a fee of 500 naira is disheartening and we want the government to take necessary steps to  arrest the situation.”

    Adebayo reminded the Lagos State government that the union had at several times alerted the government on the use of force by these law enforcement agents to extort money from them. He said:  On the number of occasions, we have drawn the attention of the government to series of high handedness of law enforcement agents on our members without any cogent response. But for the intervention of our Lagos Zonal officers who were at the scene on that fateful day , the situation could have degenerated to an unprecedented level. Our officers ‘ investigation confirmed the killing of Comrade Olalekan Lawal by officers of Operation MESSA”

    According to Comrade Adebayo, ” The office of OPMESA had been approached and though  they denied but said they are still investigating .The personnel calls me almost every day giving me update about their investigation and promised  to call whenever the suspect is caught . I believe they are cooperating. They even called me yesterday morning, telling me that investigation was still going on as they had intensified efforts to get the suspect and charged him to court. So we are still waiting for the outcome. ”

    On the whereabouts of  the vehicle driven by the slain driver, one of the comrades said ‘the owner had taken it away, I’m sure he had returned to his business.”

    What has become of his assistant, the motor boy? According to Adebayo, the motor boy has been psychologically affected, because he could not believe what happened to his boss in his presence could be true. Adebayo added that the driver’s assistant “has gone back to his village in Ijebu as he was said to be having nightmare of the incidence. I learnt he said he would never do the job again. It is just pathetic.”

    A petition has been written by the tanker drivers’ union to the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, asking him to investigate the matter and have the family of the slain driver compensated,”

    The wife of the deceased refused to talk to the press.  According to one of his in-laws, “She does not want to talk to the press at all for she is too weak and she is crying day and night”.

    However, when contacted, the police confirmed the story.

  • ‘My boss sacked me for befriending his girlfriend and I masterminded a robbery attack on him’

    A suspected member of a five-man robbery gang, Ojo Iyare (26) has explained why he organised a robbery operation against the man he was supposed to be guarding in Dolphin Estate, Lagos. The Ovia, Edo State indigene, who thereafter adopted armed robbery as his full preoccupation before he was arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command, said he was angry that while he was posted by his security outfit to guard the house, his boss was also using him for other domestic chores without any compensation. He said he was not allowed to enter any of the rooms in the house and could only enter the parlour if his boss wanted to send him on an errand. Upon all this, he said, his erstwhile boss still had the guts to tell his company to withdraw him from the house and, if possible, sack him completely. He said upon learning about the plan to sack him, he hurriedly sent in his resignation letter and decided to go into full-time armed robbery. The other suspected members of the gang, who were cooling their heels in the cell of SARS at GRA, Ikeja, Lagos include Richard Okon (29), Obiorah Frank (27), one Sunday and one Chukwuma Nkem, who was said to be helping the gang to ferry snatched vehicles across the Nigerian borders into neighbouring countries. With the aid of two locally made double barrel guns, the suspects also allegedly stole from the victim’s room some dollars amounting to about N12 million. They were also alleged to have stolen other items like laptop computers, phones and wrist watches. Recalling how they carried out the robbery operation, Ojo, the suspected leader of the gang, said: “We were a five-man gang. But those who carried out the operation that day were Richard, Obiorah and myself. It was in the previous three robbery operations and two car-snatching operations that Sunday and Chukwuma participated fully. “In the operation that caused our arrest, Chukwuma acted as the provider of buyers. Hence, his role was to market snatched cars and other stolen properties of victims, while Sunday’s role was to monitor the movements of the police after the gang had gone on an operation and policemen were looking for them. At times, he said, they acted as hawkers, selling bags, recharge cards, clothes, shoes and jewellery. Ojo added: “First, I will like you to know that I am a secondary school certificate holder. I made all my papers with credits and above, yet I could not further my education because of my dad’s inability to encourage me. To worsen matters, when I told him that I wanted to join the police, he frustrated all my efforts in that regard. “He had three wives. He has up to 15 children and gives the first wife the greatest attention. To assure him that I really wanted to join the police, I went to meet him while he was serving as a police inspector in Okene, Kogi State. “After telling him that my reason for coming was to seek his help to join the police, he told me that he needed N300,000 to lobby people for my recruitment, but he did not have the money. “When I got to Lagos and told my mother about it, she said I should give him some time to gather the money. When I went back to Kogi State the second time, I discovered that he was not taking my discussion with him seriously hence I went back to Lagos to look for work. “First, I approached a security company and they trained me and posted me to the victim’s house at Park View Estate, Apapa, on a monthly salary of N18,000. When the man (the victim) started dating the house cleaner, a young girl of about 19 years, he saw me as a rival because he always saw me discussing with the cleaner. At times, I also helped her in cleaning and other domestic duties over which the man commended me and even gave me more domestic chores without any allowance. “But what annoyed the man most was that the cleaner liked me more than him, hence he sacked me. I went back to my company and asked for redeployment. Unfortunately, they posted me to a far place and I could not afford the transport fare. “Frustrated, I stayed at home and stopped going to work. It was during the period I was idle that I met Richard through his girlfriend. They live on the same street with me. “When I told Richard that life had not been fair to me, he told me not to worry, saying that I should count myself lucky that I told him about my problem. He said he would show me the way to liberation from poverty and that I would swim in wealth within a few days. “He gave me N2,000 to buy drinks, cigarette and pepper soup. I was very happy and thanked him for the gesture. Later, I went to him and told him that my condition had worsened because I impregnated a girl and I had no money to take care of her antenatal and feeding. I told him that he should find a solution to my suffering. “I also told him about the rich man I was guarding on Park View Estate, who sacked me. I suggested that we should find a way to rob him. I did not know that Richard had just come out of prison and wanted to rest for sometime before engaging in another robbery operation. Based on that, he did not accept my proposal to rob my former boss. “But Obiorah, a friend to Richard, was present when we were discussing my plight. He became interested because I was the one who got him a job at a security outfit on a monthly salary of N18, 000. That was why he was always interested in whatever I did. “Sometime in January, Richard accepted and we decided to carry out the operation. I had the details of the house and the man because I had worked there before I was sacked. To avoid being recognised by the security man on duty, we went there as supervisors from the security company where I was posted to the house. Upon getting there, I stayed outside and allowed Richard and Obiorah to knock and go inside. “When Richard knocked at the gate, the security man came out and he told him that we were supervisors from the security, and he opened the gate for us. But before the security man could look at their faces very well, Richard had brought out a gun and pointed it at the security man. He ordered Obiorah to tie him and cover his mouth with cellotape. “When the security man had been properly tied, they bundled him into the security post, while I took over his job. When the owner of the house returned and hooted, I went and opened the gate for him. He drove in and stayed in his car for some minutes to answer a phone call. As he started walking into the house, Richard rushed towards him and pointed a gun at him. Obiorah and I tied the man and covered his eyes and mouth with cellotape. “We slapped him several times and warned him not to do anything funny if he did not want us to shoot him to death. We then took him inside his house and ordered him to show us where he kept his money, wrist watches, phones, laptop and other items. Obiorah later called our attention, saying that he had seen some dollars in his wardrobe. “Obiorah handed the money over to Richard, who later gave me one million naira. I did not know the amount Obiorah collected. From the money, I bought wheat and garri grinding machines.” Asked how he was arrested, he said: “I was at Bariga Market grinding wheat for one of my customers when I saw SARS operatives led by Superintendent of Police (SP) Abba Kyari. They told me to follow them to Scorpion House (Police Headquarters, GRA, Ikeja Lagos). I was handcuffed and whisked away.” The second suspect, Richard, said: “I am from Ogun State. I finished primary school. My father was an Army Captain before he died in 2008 and he had six wives from different parts of Nigeria. My mother is the first wife. “I used to earn N10,000 as monthly salary. I have robbed more than three times. It was one CY that lured me into armed robbery. In one of the cases, we were charged to court for armed robbery and remanded at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison. I paid my lawyer N50,000 to perfect my bail and regained my freedom. “I started selling gas and second-hand clothes at Oshodi with Okwui, who later ran away from me when he found that I was an armed robber. I returned to robbery because my shop was burnt down a few days before I was released from prison custody as an awaiting trial.” The third suspect, Obiorah, a native of Nnewi, Anambra State, said: “I had wanted to go to the university after graduating from secondary school, but my father had a fatal accident that nearly paralysed him. He is still walking with crutches. “I was born in Okene, Kogi State. It was there that I started riding commercial motorcycle (okada) and had an accident that affected my eye in 2012. It was my friend, Ifesinachi, that brought me to Lagos. “Life was hard for me, and in an attempt to find what to do to survive in Lagos, I met Uzo Ojo Iyari who introduced me to armed robbery. I was doing cleaning work after resigning from a security company. “I was the one who tied the security man and the owner of the house. I collected N1.2 million. Uzor colleted the only laptop we got from the man. I also collected an ipad. I participated in four armed robbery operations. But we did not kill anybody. “The second operation was at Surulere. We snatched a Toyota Camry car and sold it. I collected N35,000. The third operation was at Isolo where we snatched a car and sold it, but I was not given a dime. “The fourth operation took place along Ikorodu Road. I used my loot to buy a Toyota Camry for N450,000. I rented a self-contained room at Oworonsoki with N100,000, but the person I gave the money ran away.”

  • Corpse in mortuary for five years!

    Corpse in mortuary for five years!

    Since 2009 the corpse of Igbekele Oyeleye who was killed by unknown assassins has been in the mortuary while the father, Pa Lawson Oyeleye is demanding to be allowed to give his son proper burial. Taiwo Abiodun reports

    AT the frontage of house number  D/9  Ogbonogodo Street, Arigidi, Akoko, Ondo State, is Pa Lawson Oyeleye, a farmer crying like a baby. The 75 year old man is crying over the gruesome murder of his son, Igbekele Oyeleye, five years ago. His body is still in the morgue. According to him, his late son is  not only crying for justice but he appears to him always in his dream  complaining that  he  has not rested and  begging to be committed to Mother Earth  for him  to rest.

    According to him, “My slain son  has been appearing  to me in my dream, crying that his soul is roaming about and found no resting place.”

    He continued, “Life has no  meaning  to me again as I count everyday as a bonus since my son had been killed five years ago.” The septuagenarian rhetorically asked “What am I still doing here on earth when my son was killed and everything is gone?”  However, the peasant farmer has vowed to allow God to judge and has therefore resigned to fate.

    Each time he remembers the drama of how his son was forcefully taken away in his presence he is always full of tears. “I never  expected my son to be taken away in my presence and be killed. I never believed  life could be cruel to me like that and now it seems to me life  has  no meaning. Now I  am hopeless.” Amid sobs he added “If anybody could be killed like this that means we are living in a ruthless, unmerciful and unjust society. My heart has been wounded and my soul brutalized and it is only God that can heal my wounds.”

    Narrating how his son was killed, the old man said his late son, Igbekele was  the Youth  leader in Arigidi, Akoko, Ondo State where there was  struggle  between two contestants over who should be installed as king  and he  (Igbekele) refused to support one of the contestants.

    According to him, “it was during the age grade festival  (Igbogbe) when a factional leader of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) (names withheld) with the retinue of his supporters  invaded the small community and unleashed  terror wanting  to support a candidate. Since my son was the community’s Youth leader he was consulted on who to support between the two contestants, but my son said he preferred a literate person who could lead the community which did not go down well with the other group.”

    Grieving father

    According to Oyeleye, his son was whisked away on that fateful day  “it was on the 20th of August,  2009 when some suspected thugs  came to our house here when everybody  was seated outside here. My son was sitting with one of his brothers and before my very eyes, two of the thugs in the bus they brought pointed at my son as others were brandishing guns and ammunition. They asked him to follow them but he refused. In fact, it was in my presence that he was dragged and forced into their waiting vehicle and driven away to the palace from  there to where he was tortured. When they saw that he was dying he was taken to the Federal Medical Hospital, Owo but he could not talk or open his eyes again. For days he was like that, they had used all kinds of things to hit him until he later died. All I need now is his corpse to be released and buried.”

    Speaking about his son, he said ” My son was a farmer and also a bricklayer, he was the community Youth leader and very active , his death is painful.”

    What still baffles Pa Oyeleye  is the whereabouts of his Nissan car which was taken away by the thugs, “These  thugs  also came and took my Nissan Car  away  and  I have not seen the car up till  now. I later went to buy this Okada which I have been riding about. At 75 years of age where do I get money to buy a car again?”

    In a few days time, Igbogbe, an age grade festival will be celebrated and he lamented “if my son were  here he could have joined in the celebration, he would have ascended another ladder of age grade. Now everybody is rejoicing and planning for the celebration which is every five years but I cannot. I am sad, that is the truth. The yam festival is around the corner in August but where is  my son to join them for the celebration?”

    Asked whether he goes to see the body in the mortuary since it has been deposited there, he replied “No. I did not go there. In fact, they told me the two suspects were freed and exonerated from the case. Is this not injustice? I was never called to come to court, I’m only hearing this from the public.  While some said some newspapers carried the news that the suspects had been freed. Now, I am begging the government to release the corpse for me to go and bury him.”

    On who is footing the mortuary bill, the man said “I don’t know who is footing the bill. I believe the police would be going there and I don’t want the corpse to be given a mass burial.”

    The old man said he wonders why one of the suspects is allowed to be going about with thugs whenever he visits the town.

    Reminded that an Ondo State DPP had exonerated the three suspects, according to a legal advice signed on behalf of the state Attorney-General by a senior legal officer in the ministry, J.M Itiola, and authenticated by the director of DPP, Mrs. A.O Adeyemi-Tuki to the Assistant Commissioner of Police, ‘D’ Department (CID), Ondo State police command and dated August 23, 2013; the petitioner has no credible evidence linking the suspects to the alleged killing in 2009.

    The legal advice conclude thus; “In view of the above, I have so many unresolved doubts in my minds considering the gap in the period of years between the incidences and the fact that several other names were mentioned in connection with the incidence, who were never arrested or interrogated.”

    Pa Oyeleye said ” I heard so. But my concern is the corpse of my son for burial. I have left everything to God.” He alleged that a member of the family was used as an instrument to get his son.

    He said his son’s three wives have since left adding “You know women, they have gone to remarry, and whenever I  see his children I always feel sad. But what still bothers me is that I am surprised that one could snuff life out of another man and be moving freely.”

    He said the blood of his son is crying for justice.

     

  • ‘My wife told me to stop armed robbery‘

    ‘My wife told me to stop armed robbery‘

    A two-man armed robbery gang who claimed that they specialize in vandalizing cars, Ifeanyi Nwaigwu aka Akunesi Obike, 32, and one Vincent Emeguem, 34, have been arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) Lagos State Police Command.

    Narrating his involvement in the armed robbery and vandalisation that brought about his arrest the leader of the gang Ifeanyi said, “I am a holder of Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Business Administration from Nakede Polytechnic 2000-2001 session.

    “After my OND my uncle (name withheld) took me to Aspanda Market in Trade Fair Complex Lagos, to start business. I later got married to one Angela and was doing well in business. To show that I was doing well my people, the Community Association of my town in Lagos gave me a title Akunesiobike.

    “I owned a big shop in Aspanda and was selling motor gaskets, and other motor spare parts. I used to get N3,000 every day and with it I used to take good care of my wife.

    “My trouble started when one Prince Martins became my friend at Aspanda. The way Martins get bundles of money and the way he spent money as if he was printing money or working in Mint of the Central Bank made me to beg him to teach me the way to get rich. He taught me how to vandalise cars but I never participated in any armed robbery because I swore not to use guns to fend for myself to avoid spilling blood accidentally.”

    On how the gang vandalise cars he said, “we normally carry out vandalization operation at midnight when residents are deep asleep. We sneak into the compounds and go straight to where the car is parked. We use screw driver to open the door through the window glass. When we get enough motor parts from say three to four cars we package them and send to Ladipo Spare Parts market as fairly used motor parts (tokunbo parts).

    “When I had problem in Aspand because my gang was wanted by police for an offence which I did not participate in (vandalization and armed robbery) I ran away into hiding. The police later locked up my shop in Aspanda. When I solved that problem and the police stopped looking for me I vowed not to join the gang or any gang again, my wife also begged me not to continue as she ashamed as people look at her as the wife of a criminal. I respected my wife’s wish but I lost control when I had no money to continue the gasket business in Aspanda.

    “Even people who used to give me goods on credit started avoiding me fearing that I may not be able to give them their money after selling the gaskets I collected on credit. In that frustrated position I relocated to Ladipo market and started hustling (Ozo afia). It was this hustling that made me to know Vincent. I used to get enough money from the hustling like N4,000, N3,000 daily.

    “Some of the hustlers who get more money were involved in one crime or the other. Some were into vandalization of cars while some steal goods from the owner when he brings out the goods for sale. For instance, when a container is opened they (hustlers) will follow traders who have money to go and buy spare parts. As they are pricing and buying we will be pricing and stealing some parts. Where the owner has many boys who check traders who steal parts, we avoid such places because we don’t want to be caught and sent out of the market by the market union who would not like to see a thief in the market.

    “After the close of market I normally go to Vincent’s beer parlour to relax. It was in his beer parlour that he saw how I was spending money and he invited me to join to form a two man vandalization gang.

    “We don’t use gun. We use taped pipe and it looks like gun. We use it to scare away intruders or intimidate whoever dared to confront us when we are in operation. We also use jack to create sound that look like gun shot by hitting the jark on the ground anytime we see intruder.

    “In a week we operated once or twice at Bariga side along the road and Oju-Elega area. If there is alarm in the vehicle we leave it and run before the owner comes out. Where we decide to stay we use the taped pipe as gun to low the owner of the car and keep him quiet till we finish operation.

    The second suspect Vincent said “I am from Ezinifite, Mbaise Imo State as Ifeanyi. Though I am a business man, I trade on anything that can give me daily bread. I am married with three children and my wife is presently heavy with pregnancy.

    “I also operate a beer parlour at Iba junction in Lagos. I bought my private car Mercedes V-Boot N150,000. I used to get money from the selling of drinks, cigarette, pepper soup and hot drinks.

    “It was Ifeanyi that lured me into car vandalization. Two of us used to go in the midnight to operate. We don’t use gun. We used only taped pipe and hammer, screw driver. It is because of the taped pipe we used as gun that police said we use arms. I am not an armed robber. I am car vandalizer. My wife also asked me to stop vandalization of cars but hardship and greed did not allow me. I was financially down that I could not afford N50,000 to take care of my family. Most of the drinks and food items are bought on credit. Both of us are from the same community, Mbaise in Imo State.

    “If I am released I will go back to my beer parlour and will never do car vandalization again. I will also cut off all my friends that are criminals and declare openly that I want to be left alone to chart a new course for my life void of criminality.”