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Tag: robber

  • Beware! That hawker may be robber, terrorist

    Beware! That hawker may be robber, terrorist

    Almost everyday, traffic robbers who masquerade as hawkers are nabbed by the police in Lagos. These “Ember” months, it is feared that they will become more daring. OLUKOREDE YISHAU writes that residents are advised to be extra-vigilant as the next traffic hawker could be a robber or a terrorist. 

    The Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Fulvio Rustico sees Lagos as the most challenging and most fascinating state any public office holder in the world can lead. The Italian envoy spoke at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja when he visited Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

    He added that the enormous challenges of governing the state, which is not only the power house of Nigeria and the fourth economy in Africa, would continue to mount with the projection that it would be the second or third largest city in the world by 2050; with 450 million inhabitants. It has over 21 million people at present.

    “I envy you Mr Governor because you have one of the most challenging and most fascinating tasks anywhere in the world. You have a fantastic city,” Rustico said.

    The envoy’s observations are not easily lost on keen observers of the cosmopolitan state.

    Of the challenges, one that is of concern to all inhabitants of the state is security. Because of its cosmopolitan nature, the state houses people from all over the world. A large chunk of the inhabitants mean well for it. But there are a few bad eggs that make it look bad. They are traffic robbers who, most times, pose as street or traffic traders to wreak havoc.

    These robbers, under the guise of hawking gala, plantain chips, plastic table water, soft drinks and other edibles during traffic jams, unleash terrors on their victims. From Ojota to the Third Mainland Bridge to Ijora Bridge and several parts of Lagos, these robbers who pretend, most of the times, to be hawkers, rob people of their valuables.

    Addressing Government House Correspondents shortly after an emergency Security Council Meeting which he chaired, Ambode said it had become evident that traffic crimes and robbery are mostly as a result of the menace of motorcycle operators popularly known as okada riders and street hawkers.

    •Ambode
    •Ambode

    The governor said the government would not allow a few notorious elements to cause a breakdown in law and order and upset the peace that the state has enjoyed over the years.

    Ambode also admonished residents of the state to see the last two months of the year as a period that calls for vigilance and a changed attitude towards issues relating to crime and terrorism.

    He urged residents to co-operate with the government at all times, just as he warned them against the dangers of patronising street and in-traffic hawkers.

    “The next hawker could be a robber or terrorist. You are now well-advised. If we all co-operate and decide not to buy, gradually and collectively, the hawkers will not come to the highways and streets anymore. Our roads will definitely become safer.”

    Ambode, who said the government is also working hard to restrict street hawking, urged the people to stop patronising them, so as to discourage street traders from the highways.

    “We have already hit the ground running. I’m deeply concerned about the issues that Lagosians are sending back to me and the issues range from security, traffic gridlock and the environment itself. But again, just as we are looking at the immediate solutions to them, there are medium-term solutions that Lagosians will see in the next few weeks that we will roll out.

    “As we are now in the ‘Ember’ months, I just want to appeal to Lagosians to be more vigilant, and cooperate with us in all the measures we will be carrying out,” Ambode said.

    The governor’s concern will make sense when considered side by side traffic robbers who are in the police net. Some days back, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of Lagos Police Command arrested three ex–convicts for traffic robbery in Oshodi.

    The robbery suspects, Adekunle Mustapha, 21, Popoola Olumide, 20 and Femi Amusa, 20, were arrested following a tip-off from their victim, Olasunkanmi Oyelakin, who alerted the police that his blackberry phone was stolen by the suspects during early morning traffic around Bolade, Oshodi.

    Oyelakin was quoted by the police as saying: “I was on my way to Ajah at 6:30 a.m. I saw Adekunle Mustapha passed by the bus I boarded. Unknown to me, he was monitoring me. A few minutes later, I noticed a missed call on my phone, and as I brought out the phone, Mustapha took the phone from me through the bus window and ran away. Because there was traffic, I made no attempt to struggle with him, but got down from the nearest bus-stop and I began to monitor him. I noticed that he had regrouped with his friends and one of them was telling him to hand over the phone he stole from me.

    “I knew I couldn’t handle the three of them all alone. So, I informed the RRS operatives who followed me down to the place where he was arrested.”

    Mustapha said he was driven by frustration to steal the handset from him.

    “I am a bus conductor in Oshodi. I am from Ibadan and a secondary school dropout. I sleep in Ojuwoye. I am an ex-convict. I don’t want to go to prison again. Government should please have mercy on me. I was frustrated into traffic robbery. I won’t do it again,” he said.

    Also, early this month, the RRS apprehended suspects alleged to be members of traffic robbery syndicate terrorising commuters and motorists around Bourdillon Road in Ikoyi.

    The suspects are Joseph Edem, 24, Jamilu Musa, 29 and Gambo Yunusa, 30. They were arrested on November 7.

    The RRS Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Olatunji Disu, said: “Following the complaints from members of the public of incessant in-traffic robbery attacks around the axis; our men laid an ambush on them which led to the arrest of the suspects, while others managed to escape the dragnet of the police. When the policemen combed the area, different kinds of weapon were recovered from their hideouts.”

    Another traffic robber in police net is Timothy Ojomandu, 22. He is alleged to be a member of a three-man syndicate who hide under gridlock to attack and rob law-abiding motorists around Mile 2 area in the state.

    The suspect was caught early this month by a team of policemen from RRS, who responded to distress call made by the driver of Mitsubishi Canter with registration number FKJ 676 XF, after the suspect and his gang members had successfully stolen one carton of cell battery from the truck.

    The lorry driver, Mr. Ajiboye Mogaji, told the police that he sighted the suspect from the side mirror of his vehicle when he sneaked in through the back of the truck.

    He said: “When I saw him sneaking in to my truck, I pretended as if I didn’t see him. While inside the truck, he passed one carton to his partner who was moving beside the vehicle. As soon as I saw him passing one carton to his partner on the ground, I rushed down on motion.

    “However, when his partner saw me alighting from the vehicle suddenly, he absconded with that one carton, and I held the suspect by his trousers when he wanted to jump down from the truck. Then, I shouted for help and the policemen from RRS who were patrolling the area responded swiftly to the distress call.”

    The suspect, who confessed to the crime, said that he was recruited into the group about two months ago.

    “Our robbery syndicate was in the habit of stealing handsets and other valuables from pedestrians and motorists during the peak period of traffic congestion along the area.

    The RRS on Tuesday, August 25, apprehended Tijani Taofeek, 26, suspected to be a member of gridlock robbery syndicate in Ojota.

    The suspect, who hails from Ogbomosho in Oyo State, said he was a bus conductor, and that the income from bus conducting business was no longer enough for him.

    For the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment, Oluwatoyin Onisarotu, traders who fail to abide by State Environmental Sanitation Law would henceforth be seriously dealt with.

    He said: “It is disheartening to see how our major roads and highways such as Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Ikorodu Road, Agege Motor Road, Victoria Island, Ikoyi-Obalende, Ojuelegba–Stadium, Surulere, Oyingbo, Carter Bridge, Idumota, Oshodi, Ketu, Mile 12, Third Mainland Bridge, Cele, Iyana-Ipaja, Agbado Oke-Odo, Airport Road and Ikeja, among others have been converted to illegal markets.”

    Onisarotu warned traders engaging in this illegal act to desist from it as the government would not compromise any act that may derail the effort of the government in achieving a cleaner environment.

    The Permanent Secretary further said the State Environmental Sanitation Law forbade anybody from converting the road median, setbacks and walkways to any trading activities.

    According to Onisarotu, Ambode has mandated law enforcement officers and regulatory agencies to ensure compliance with the provision of the state sanitation laws forthwith.

    The Chairman of the State Task Force on Environmental and other Special Offences (Enforcement Unit), Mr. Olubukola Abe, said the government would reduce traffic congestion on the highways, often caused by the activities of hawkers.

    Abe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Section 1 of the Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law, 2003, restricted street trading and hawking in the metropolis.

    “Sections 7 and 8 of the same law give jurisdiction and power to the special court to order the seizure and public auction of items impounded during street trading.

    “Section 10 of the law prescribes the sum of N5, 000 as fine or three months’ imprisonment upon conviction.

    Aside the criminal aspect of street trading, Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni warned of the health hazards of patronising such hawkers. He cited the recent arrest of five men who were caught selling adulterated plastic table water and coca-cola.

    Owoseni said operatives of the RRS, acting on a tip-off, arrested five persons, including three accomplices, who specialised in adulteration of dispensable jar water and sachet water at No. 3, Adesola Street, Ago Palace Way, Okota, Isolo, Lagos. They were arrested on Thursday, October 22. The two prime suspects were identified as Chukwuma Uzor, 48 and Ofonime Ikpe 44.

    “The law on street trading also affects its patrons. People should stop patronising street hawkers. The products are adulterated and in order to prevent robberies in traffic jams and also to protect people from being poisoned, they should stop patronising them,” the CP said.

  • Ilorin: Drama as suspected robber falls from bank’s roof

    Ilorin: Drama as suspected robber falls from bank’s roof

    There was drama on Friday at the Unity Road Branch of Guaranty Trust Bank in Ilorin as a suspected robber fell from the bank’s roof, throwing the banking hall into pandemonium.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the suspect was hiding in the roof of the bank while waiting for his accomplices to commence a robbery operation when he fell.

    A security man attached to the bank told NAN on condition of anonymity said that the suspected robber must have been hiding in the roof overnight.

    He also said nobody knew how the suspect got into the roof of the bank as there was no sign of damage to any of the security doors in the bank.

    The security man said the suspect was promptly apprehended by some customers inside the banking hall and later handed over to the police.

    The Police Public Relations officer, ASP Okasanmi Ajayi, confirmed the incident to NAN.

    He said immediately the report reached the police command, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Esosa Amadasun, visited the bank.

    The police spokesman said nobody was injured in the incident while interrogation of the suspect had commenced.

    When NAN visited the bank, it was under lock while a security man was busy directing customers to the Taiwo Road branch of the bank.

     

     

  • Suspected scavenger-robber held at Ojota

    Suspected scavenger-robber held at Ojota

    A man, who disguises as a scavenger to rob people around Ojota in Lagos has been arrested by Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives.

    Abdullai Umar (24) was arrested by a RRS patrol team around Abiola Garden in Ojota.

    Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect is a member of a gang, which disguises as scavengers and hides arms in trucks to commit robbery.

    According to RRS, the suspect and other members of his gang threatened victims with weapons before robbing them of their valuables, such as phones, jewellery and cash

    Two of Umar’s victims accompanied him to the RRS Headquarters at Alausa, Ikeja, to narrate their ordeals to the police.

    Mr Dayo Zachariah, one of the victims, said he was attacked along the road leading to China Town while going to work.

    He said: “A guy jumped out from the bush and attacked me with a cutlass, and collected my phone and purse containing the sum of N1,700 and I.D card with bank teller and also a passport photograph.

    “My phone and purse were recovered from him by the police but the money inside the purse had vanished.”

    Another victim, Grace Akanna, told the police that the suspect also robbed him on that spot on the same day.

    “On that fateful morning, I was going through Abiola Garden, Ojota to board a bus to Maryland, a man came from nowhere and snatched my purse containing the sum of N2,000, Identification card, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and some documents,” Akanna said.

    RRS Commander, Olatunji Disu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP, said the patrol team saw Zachariah and Akanna crying for help.

    “Immediately, the policemen went after the suspect, who was nabbed while making an attempt to hide inside the flower in the area”.

    The suspect, who claims that he hails from Kawo Local Government Area of Kaduna State, said: “I disguised as scavenger to rob people. I work with Sunday, Stephen, Papa, John, Muscle and Akeem.

    “We operate around that area during day and night. My receiver is an Igbo man who owns a shop at Mile 2 in Lagos. I sold Nokia and Techno phones to him and any other stolen valuables including wrist-watches and jewellery. I am ready to cooperate with the Police to arrest other members of the gang”.

    Disu said his men would go after fleeing members of the syndicate.

  • Suspected traffic robber held in Mile 2

    Suspected traffic robber held in Mile 2

    Operatives of Lagos State Police Command have arrested Monday Ubi for allegedly robbing a passenger in traffic.

    Ubi, described as a “traffic robbery kingpin” was arrested at Mile 2 by the Response Squad (RRS) following the victim, Orji Ogbonnaya’s distress call.

    Ubi was said to have removed N28,000 from Ogbonnaya’s pocket inside a Festac Town-bound bus.

    Ogbonnaya told the police that Ubi, who sat beside him, stylishly removed the money.

    Ogbonnaya said: “I boarded a bus to Mile 2 from Oshodi. On getting to Toyota, the suspect came in because there were still spaces in the bus. I didn’t have an inkling that he had a mission. I adjusted a bit from him and he also did making him closer to me. When I noticed that he had removed the money from my pocket after I touched my thigh, I pretended as if nothing had happened. Then I started looking if I could see any police patrol vehicle.

    “When we reached Mile 2, he wanted to alight from the bus but I held his trousers. As we alighted from the bus, I called the attention of the RRS patrol team I saw around.

    “Unknown to me, he had passed the money to one of his gang members. But when the police surrounded us, a man dropped the money on the road and ran away. It was when the suspect was being taken to the police headquarters that he confessed stealing my money and passing it to his partner.”

    Ogbonnaya thanked the policemen for helping him to recover his money.

    The suspect, who lives at Olutimeyin Street, Ayobo-Ipaja, said he is a member of the syndicate operating in Mile 2, Ajegunle and environs.

    “I used to sell second-hand clothes at Kantangwa market along Lagos-Abeokuta expressway. One of my customers introduced me to robbery. He taught me how to pick pockets without people’s knowledge. I intentionally sat beside him in the bus because we know our victims. This is not my first time. I have been in this profession for almost two years. I want the government to forgive me now that I know there is no gain in stealing,” Ubi said.

    RRS Commander Olatunji Disu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), said the squad was committed to free Lagos from any criminal acts.

  • ‘How I was caught with 27 phones’

    ‘How I was caught with 27 phones’

    A 19-year-old man, Saliu Oladunni, Thursday narrated how he was caught by the police with 27 phones burgled from a shop at Wole Ajeboriogbon Street, Sabo, Ikorodu.

    The Nation gathered that the property is said to belong to one Mrs. Wasiu Omolabake.

    Oladunni, who was arraigned before a magistrate’s court in Ikorodu Thursday, told The Nation that he wasn’t part of the gang that stole the phones, but he helped the thieves to deliver them to phone sellers.

    He said: “I was taking my broken phone to a mallam for repair when the guys asked me to take the 27 phones to the same mallam.

    “The mallam repairs and sells phones, but I didn’t know he was working for the police too.

    “It was when the police came and arrested me there that I knew the phones were stolen,” Oladunni claimed.

    The Prosecutor, Corporal Mary Ajiteru, told the court that on August 31, 2015, Oladunni and several others at large at about 3:30am burgled Mrs. Omolabake’s shop and made off with 44 different phones and accessories worth N180, 000.

    When the three-count charge was read to him in Yoruba, Oladunni pleaded guilty to conspiracy and stealing punishable under Sections 409 and 285 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011 respectively. He denied the second charge of burglary.

    The magistrate, Mr. O. O. Olatunji, ordered that the accused be remanded in prison and adjourned the case till October 22 for facts and sentencing.

  • Air Force men arrest ‘robber’

    Air Force men arrest ‘robber’

    Officers of the Nigeria Air Force (NAF), Tactical Air Command (TAC) headquarters in Makurdi, Benue State, have arrested a suspected robber at a checkpoint near the NAF main gate in Makurdi.

    The bandit, Emeka Joseph, was arrested with locally-made pistols with eight rounds of 9mm ammunition and a stolen Sienna bus registered as LSD 524 AE.

    Briefing reporters, the Commandant, 35 Base Service Group (BSG), Air Commodore Olusesan Idowu, said the bus was snatched from Mrs. Susan Audu, who left a church near Modern Market in Makurdi.

    He said the suspect was nabbed at the second NAF checkpoint.

    Two pistols with eight rounds of 9mm ammunition was found on him.

    The commandant said the suspect had been handed over to the Special Anti Robbery Squad led by ASP Abu Francis for interrogation and prosecution.

    The 13 NAF men, who apprehended the robber, have been given letters of commendation.

    Air Commodore Idowu presented the letters and urged the officers to do more.

  • Suspected robber held

    Suspected robber held

    The police have arrested a member of four-man gang which robs cars, dismantles and sells them as spares.

    A source said Donatus Okike, 29, and his gang snatched Toyota Camry on December 16, last year, at Igando, Lagos.

    The suspect gave the names of his colleagues as Nonso, Consider and Segun.

    An AK47 rifle and 73 rounds of live ammunition loaded with six magazines,  were recovered from him.

    “They specialise in snatching vehicles from owners at gun point. One Toyota Camry and a Sienna space bus were also recovered; both vehicles were unregistered. The Camry was sold to one Lucky Oboh, a danfo bus driver at Igando through a member of the gang called Nonso for N700,000. Lucky only paid N300,000. They usually remove the number-plates when they want to sell them to make people believe they were imported cars” the source said.

    Okike, who described himself as a truck driver on Mile II-Seme border and Ogba-Idiroko routes, said: “I live at 12, Ashorobi Street, Ogba.  I came to Lagos in 2005 and was staying with my uncle at Maryland. In 2009, I became a truck driver. I was driving for one Ogbonna Okorie that is working where they load rice in Seme.

    “It was my friend known as Consider that asked me to help him to drive his vehicle; that was how I became an armed car snatcher. The first Toyota Camry he asked me to drive to Benin was sold for N600,000; he gave me N50,000. The second car, Sienna which I took to Port Harcourt was sold for N700,000. The third one was Toyota Camry which I drove to Badagry. It was also sold, but we did not collect anything because of a misunderstanding they had with my gang leader, Segun. The fourth vehicle is a Sienna car. It caught fire on the road as we were going to Port Harcourt to deliver it to a buyer. My role is to drive any snatched car to the buyer. It is our gang leader that carried and operated our AK47 rifle.”

    Claiming that he became a Muslim in the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) cell, the suspect said: “I love the way Muslims pray five times a day. Our Chief Imam in the cell advised us to have faith in Allah, assuring that He would set us free one day to give testimony and stop snatching vehicles. I am expecting the miracle; I want Allah to rescue me. Staying in SARS’ cell also helped me to stop smoking Indian hemp.”

    On how he spent his loot, Okike said: “I used the money I got from robbery for my mother’s treatment. I don’t have a girlfriend. When I am stressed up, I go to New Generation Hotel, Ogba, to reduce tension by carrying prostitutes at N2,000 for short time, including rent for the room. I see the prostitute once in a month but I used to wear condom.”

  • I rob the rich, says suspected robber

    I rob the rich, says suspected robber

    He was hired as an interior designer, but he used his insider knowledge to get his clients’ homes robbed.

    Mustapha Akeem, 20, gave information to his colleagues who carried out the operation.

    Paraded by the Lagos State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on Monday, Akeem from Laturo Village in Ogun State said he was driven into robbery by covetousness. He said he saw large amount of money, expensive phones, laptops and jewellery in the houses where he worked, adding: “I had no choice than to tell my friends who lured me into robbery. We usually return to those houses and rob them,” he said.

    According to the police, Akeem’s parents have been on the lookout for him. They were not aware he is a member of a robbery gang until he was arrested.

    Akeem said: “My parents abandoned me when I was little so I had no other option than to live with my grandmother who resides at Bariga in Lagos. I had my primary and secondary education in Lagos but I was expelled in class three because I was among those who fought with a neighbouring school in 2007. I learnt how to barb for one-and-a-half years but since there was no money to have a shop, I learnt interior design (POP).

    “My first operation was with Sulaiman and Segun at Odunsi, Bariga in June 2013 at 8pm. Sulaiman makes use of a gun since he is our gang leader. We collected N20, 000 and three phones. Our victim was a recharge card seller. We collected N50, 000 in front of her house. We used machete to cut her chain and sold it for N40, 000 while I was given N20, 000. We also robbed people at Onipe and Ayedun streets, Bariga and collected N50, 000 and N80, 000.

    “It is not only the streets we rob. At times, when I am called to design houses, I steal from them. Our fourth operation at Emmanuel Street, we got one phone and one chain which we sold for N7, 000 and N20, 000 respectively. The fifth operation was at Bello Street where we collected N30, 000 and two phones. The sixth operation was at Bamidi Lawal Street where we collected N80, 000 and a chain.

    “We know those to rob from what they wear, the jewellery they use and the handbag they carry. I was arrested during our last operation by Bariga policemen. Sulaiman was killed by the policemen when he tried to escape while Segun escaped with our N50, 000.”

  • Indian hemp lands ‘robber’ in police net

    Indian hemp lands ‘robber’ in police net

    Why did I take too much Indian hemp and Ogogoro (local gin) before going for that operation”? This is the lamentation of a member of a four-man armed robbery gang, Chukwuemeka Obikachi (25), who is being detained by the police.

    Reeking of Ogogoro, he was caught at Ologolo in Lekki, Lagos, last month, while his three accomplices escaped.

    Last December 8, a police source said, Obikachi and the others allegedly stopped a man, simply identified as Ismaila, while trying to drive his Highlander Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) into a compound at Ologolo.

    They took the car key, stripped the mand naked, dumped him in the back seat and zoomed off.

    The man’s screams attracted the residents, which who rushed to his aid.

    “When the robbers saw a crowd coming, they took to their heels, but Obikachi could not follow them immediately due to the foolish courage the Indian hemp and drink he consumed gave him. They caught him and gave him the beating of his life. They later took him to a police station in the area before transferring him to SARS,” the source said.

    The SARS operatives, it was learnt, later took him to the scene and recovered one berretta pistol and three live cartridges.

    Obikachi said: “I live in the Pako area of Ijora. I was in the market when one Henry invited me for an armed robbery work. He first took us to Small Kuramo where we entered one liquor joint. He gave us drinks, smoke and pepper soup.

    “On the day of the operation, Tunde, Chinedu and Henry came with two guns. When we surrounded the man, Chinedu took over the steering, Henry pointed the gun, and Tunde searched the motor and stripped the man naked. My role was to watch out for intruders. I over-smoked Indian hemp and hot drinks; that was why I could not escape when my colleagues did.

    “If I am released, I will stop smoking Indian hemp, go back to school and after graduation, I will join the police to become a gallant police officer. I will fight criminals with passion.”

  • Why I became a robber, by suspect

    A member of a three-man gang which specialised in house-to-house robbery in Lagos is claiming to have embraced crime to get money for his mother’s treatment.

    Emeka Edward, 20, said he needed money to settle the woman’s medical bills after she delivered her last child through a Caesarean section.

    He is being held by the police with an other suspect, George David (27).  Their accomplice, simply identified as Kelvin a.k.a Intelligence, is at large.

    The police accused them of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and unlawful possession of firearm.

    According to the police said, last December 5, members of the gang invaded a street in Alaso area on Africa Independent Television (AIT) Road, Alagbado, a Lagos suburb, where they carried out a house-to-house robbery.

    Luck ran out against them following the escape of a woman they met in the first house when one of them attempted to rape her.

    She was said to have raised an alarm which alerted other residents who chased the robber at Alagbado and arrested Emeka. The suspect was handed over to the Police at Alagbado and was later transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

    Based on Emeka’s confession, SARS Officer-in-Charge (O-i-C) Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police, last December 11 led detectives to a hideout in Agege where George was arrested. But efforts to get Kelvin failed.

    The detectives ransacked a hotel in Agege where Kelvin was lodging but he was not found. However, they recovered one AK47 magazine with 7.65mm live ammunition.

    In his confession, Emeka said: “I am a bricklayer. I dropped out at Junior Secondary School (JSS) 1 due to financial problem caused by my father’s sudden death. I live at 25, Kadiri Adibambo Street, AIT Area in Alagbado. I live on the same street with my friend, George.

    “My journey into police net started when my mother told me that she was sick and needed money for a surgery while giving birth to her last child. It was my effort to get the money that put me in this trouble.”

    On their mode of operation, he said: “My friend, Alfa called me to visit that area. When I got there, I met him with another guy. They told me that they were going to do one job which would fetch them good money. They told me that the job was house-to-house armed robbery. I joined them because I needed money to help my mother.

    “When we entered one building we met one woman and three of her children. Kelvin who was holding gun ordered them to lay face-down. They started ransacking the house, but George wanted to rape the woman. The woman jumped up and attempted to run away. George held her wrapper and the woman dropped it and ran into the street, shouting “thief, thief, thief,” which attracted residents in the area who trooped out and gave us a hot chase. George and Kelvin escaped. I was identified, arrested by the people and handed over to the police. It was the first time I would participate in robbery”.

    George, who hails from Iseleukwu in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, said: “I used to ride tricycle (Keke Marwa) from Kola to Alaso in the Alagbado area. I am from the same village with Kelvin, who claims to be a student of Ogun State University. He said he wanted to travel to South Africa and showed me his visa. I sold my tricycle I bought for N600,000 for N80,000 to assist him on the planned trip.

    “He had been robbing and police had been looking for him. I also sold my TV and Ipad to help him. I knew Emeka and I used to buy sachets of Chelsea drink for him. I was the one who invited him to join us in the robbery.

    “Kelvin used the butt of his gun to hit one of the boy’s head because they were not cooperating. I did not want to rape the woman. I held the woman when she wanted to run away and she intentionally removed her wrapper to enable her escape from my grip.”

    The command’s spokesman, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ken Nwosu, confirmed the case, saying: “Two of the suspects were arrested and they have already confessed to some robberies in Lagos and its environs. The third gang member simply identified as Kelvin a.k.a Intelligence is on the run but serious efforts are ongoing to apprehend him and charge them to court.”