The Nation Newspaper

Tag: robbery

  • Police kill one in foiled bank robbery

    Police kill one in foiled bank robbery

    The police in Bayelsa State have foiled an attempt by a five-man gang to rob a new generation bank in Yenagoa, the state capital.

    It was gathered that one of the gunmen was killed in a shootout with the policemen guarding the bank.

    The suspected robbers were said to have scaled the fence of the bank on Monday at 11:50 pm and opened fire on the policemen on duty.

    But the police reportedly fired back, killing one of the gunmen while four others reportedly fled with bullet wounds.

    Police spokesman Butswat Asinim, confirmed the incident in a statement yesterday in Yenagoa.

    The statement said: “On March 27, at 2250 hours (10.50 pm) five gunmen scaled the fence of a new generation bank building at Kpansia, Yenagoa Local Government, and opened fire on the policemen on duty.

    “The policemen fired back at them, killed one of the gunmen and recovered a single-barrelled cut-to-size locally-made gun. The other robbers fled with bullet wounds.

    “The body of the suspected robber was deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa. Efforts have been intensified to arrest the fleeing suspects. Investigation is on.”

  • Police arrest robbery suspects in Ogun

    • Arms, others recovered

    The police in Ogun State have arrested three robbery suspects – Yusuf Olatunji, Jamiu Babatunde and Tunde Ajasa– following a raid on their hideout at Gbaga Eriyo Ogijo community in Sagamu.

    A pistol, live cartridges, knives, cutlasses, bags of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp, various mobile phones and charms were recovered during the raid carried out by a combined team of police and the State Vigilante Service.

    The suspects, who are assisting the police with  information, have been handed over to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

    Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the suspects were arrested on March 14 in an operation spearheaded by the Divisional Police Officer in Ogijo.

    Adejobi said the Command was mindful of the influx of some hoodlums and criminals from neighbouring states and has put measures in place to flush them out.

    He identified boundary towns, such as Ogijo, Ijebu- Ode, Ijebu-Igbo,  Isheri, Akute Ajuwon, Ota among others as hideouts of hoodlums and other miscreants migrating into the state.

    “We’re flushing the criminals out of their hideouts so that they will not have any conducive environment to operate.

    “These strategies of raid, intelligence gathering and rigorous patrol have paid off and the command will not relent in its efforts to sustain such.

    “The Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, has praised the DPO for his good initiatives and achievements.

    “He has, however, challenged other DPOs to re-engineer these strategies to make their areas safe.  He emphasised on constant raid of black spots and promised to continue to encourage his officers and men to fight crimes,” Adejobi said.

  • RRS smashes Okada robbery gang

    RRS smashes Okada robbery gang

    Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives have arrested three teenage robbers, who specialised in snatching motorcycles.

    Daniel Dali, 19 and two others were arrested on Friday around 10:48pm in Ajegunle by patrolling RRS men.

    Dali, an Okada rider from Cotonou in Benin Republic, and one of the other suspects had reportedly snatched an handbag from a woman, who shouted for help. Her cry attracted the RRS team, which chashed the duo. Dali escaped, but his accomplice was arrested. Dali and the other suspect was later arrested after the police combed the area.

    The suspects reportedly admitted at the RRS Headquarters in Alausa, Ikeja that they snatched the handbag, which they did not know contained two wraps of “fufu” and stew.

    At their apartment in Ajegunle, two of their roommates were also arrested but released after being quizzed by the police.

    A statement by RRS quoted Dali as describing himself as the syndicate’s Okada rider. He said he started Okada snatching last year after his mother’s death.

    “My mother’s death forced me into robbery. My mother gave me everything I wanted. If I need anything, I go to her and she would provide it for me, even when I was working. After her death, I had no helper. I mean, there was nobody to turn to again. My father lives in the village in Cotonou, but I don’t want to go back there.

    “I have been lynched in an operation before and abandoned at Ago–Hausa, Ajegunle but woke up the following day. I have been involved in countless robbery operations.

    The suspect added: “Bright and I have been to four operations. In one of our outing, we snatched a recharge card worth N35, 000. He sold it and gave me only N5,000. Although, there are occasional instances when we get nothing from operations but we don’t use guns. We have never operated with guns. We snatch bags, phones and other belongings and escape with Okada.

    “We have choice routes we operate. The areas we have operated are Boundary, Mile 2, New Roundabout, Wilmer and Ajegunle. Ashaolu was operating with Poly before he joined me. We use the Okada given to me by a woman for instalmental payment. This is the third time she would be buying Okada for me. One was stolen at gun point, another, faulty and then this. I have only paid, N75,000 out of N300,000.”

    Bright said he had only operated seven times.

    “During fuel crisis, we suck fuel from vehicles parked on the streets to operate. Several boys do this business in Ajegunle. I know of a team, that lives in different hotels, sleeps in day time and operates at night. This is the only job they do to survive,” he said.

    The suspects have been transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).

    Police spokesperson Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP), said the suspects have given information that would lead to the arrest of other gangs.

  • Militants sack police station in Bayelsa

    Militants sack police station in Bayelsa

    . Cart away ATM, cash in bank attack

    Like a scene in an action thriller, gunmen suspected to be militants launched attacks on a police station and a branch of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in Amasoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

    Amasoma is the community of the late former governor of the state, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and a host to the state-owned university, the Niger Delta University (NDU).

    It was gathered that the gang of militants stormed the community through the waterways at about 1am on Friday.

    Shortly after arriving on a speedboat, they were said to have moved straight to the police station located in the area and engaged the policemen in a gun duel.

    The bandits who reportedly overpowered the policemen, carted away arms and ammunition from the police station.

    The rampaging armed robbers later visited the UBA branch with rage shooting sporadically and creating panic among residents.

    It was gathered that the militants threw dynamites and other explosives at the bank to create access to the banking hall.

    After blowing off the fence of the bank, the hoodlums were said to have tried in vain to enter the bank.

    A source who spoke in confidence said: “A group of armed militants with heavy guns stormed amassoma community. They militants came in through the waterways but the police were unable to stop them.

    “The militants group found their way to the United Bank of Africa (UBA) where they shoot sporadically chasing away everyone including the security guards.

    “They threw bombs and dynamites at the walls of the bank, bringing down its fences. They gained access to the bank premises but were unable to get in after much attempt”.

    It was gathered that the militants later attacked the Automated Teller Machine (ATM), dismantled and carted it away.

    Though no life had been confirmed lost in the incident, some persons were said to have been injured.

    “The source added: “This is not the first time such robbery is taking place in a bank at amassoma. It could be recalled sometime ago that suspected militants group raided the bank carting away millions of naira and leaving behind dead victims.”

    A senior bank official who spoke in confidence confirmed the attack and said the ATM was carted away by the hoodlums.

    He, however, said the UBA management had sent a team to take inventory of the damaged property and determine the amount of money lost to the incident.

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Butswat Asinim, said he was waiting for the details of the attack.

  • Robbers attack broadcaster, others in Lagos

    Robbers attack broadcaster, others in Lagos

    Notorious ‘one chance’ bandits on Wednesday attacked a producer with Television Continental  (TVC), Toyin Ibrahim and four others, dispossessing them of their valuables.

    The incident occurred at about 5:30am few minutes after she boarded a commercial bus at Ketu bridge heading towards Berger-Magodo.

    Ibrahim, who is currently being treated at a hospital in Magodo stated that the criminals attacked them barely two minutes after entering the bus, collecting the phones and cash.

    She said they also took victims’ Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards to withdraw money.

    Showing her torn jeans trousers to reporters, she stated that she was almost raped after she bit one of the robbers.

    Her words: “Two minutes after the vehicle took off one of the robbers began to hit me. He asked me of my ATM pin number but I gave him a wrong number. When they tried the numbers and discovered that the pin was a fake one, they descended on me, hitting and booting me with their heavy shoes.

    “I had to tell them the truth, giving them the three pin numbers of my GTB and Skye Banks cards. As they were beating me, I bit one of them and he became angry and tore my jeans trousers.

    “He wanted to rape me. I was saved by one of them who warned that there was no time for that. The company just paid my salary and I was hoping to withdraw some money yesterday. The robbers have withdrawn all.

    “It was a 14- seater bus. I wanted to sit at the second seat at the back of driver’s seat, but the conductor said that was his seat so I had to go to the last seat. I and four other people were victims.

    “They were stepping and marching me very hard. I would have died if they had succeeded in raping me. Even as they were doing that, they pushed two victims down on motion. They injured me in the head.

    “I am still spitting blood. They stole my three ATM cards, one phone and the N3,000 in my pocket. They robbed other victims too.”

  • Robbery suspect arrested with ‘stolen’ SUV

    A robbery suspect has been caught after petrol finished in the Honda Pilot Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) he stole in Ilupeju, Lagos.

    Ibrahim Babatunde, 28, was arrested by Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives at Ikeja along on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway around midnight last Wednesday while fleeing with the SUV.

    He was caught when he attempted to run away after the vehicle ran out of petrol.

    The suspect claim that he took to crime in order to pay his children’s school fees, adding that he has stolen about 150 phones, 10 laptops and a car.

    He said he started stealing when he was 10, adding: “I have been stealing from my mother and sisters since I was 10 years old but I never stole from anyone outside my house until three years ago. It was frustration and poverty that drove me into robbery as a profession. I needed money to feed my family and pay my two children’s school fees.”

    Babatunde was knocked down by a trailer as he fled from the police. The accident facilitated his arrest.

    He said he stole the vehicle in Ilupeju, explaining that “I was just going round looking for what to steal. Then I got to a street in Ilupeju and saw a car parked outside a fence. I jumped the fence, landed on the balcony inside the compound; from there I went through an open window and then the staircase.

    “I started going from room to room looking for any one that was open. I now saw a room that only the net was locked. I tore the net and entered inside. The occupant; a man, was sleeping. I took the three phones (two Nokia and a Blackberry) I saw on the table and also collected his car key.

    “I did not know which car but since there was remote on it, I simply pressed the remote and the light came on outside and so, I drove the car away.

    “As I was heading to Agbado, where I have already contacted Akeem Ayoola (another suspect) to find a buyer, the fuel finished just by Ikeja Along bus stop.  I called Akeem and told him what was happening, and came down from the car to look for solution since it was midnight.

    “But as soon as I came out, I saw policemen and out of fear, I started running. That was how they chased me and as I was about crossing the road, a trailer knocked me down and that was how they arrested me,” he said.

    The police have also arrested Ayoola, 40, and Sanni Azeez, 27, who allegedly bought stolen phones, cars from the suspect.

    A source said Babatunde was arrested before Ile-Zik after the police noticed his suspicious movement.

    The Lagos command’s spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police, said the suspects had been transferred to Ilupeju Division.

  • Robbery suspect who fondles victims’ breasts nabbed

    Two robbery suspects were yesterday arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Command.

    They are Abdullahi Isiaka and another identified as Abel.

    The duo, it was learnt used to be members of a four-man gang including Governor and Brigadier, who have since been arrested.

    They suspects were nabbed around Ijora-Badia on Monday morning, while they were going for an operation on their motorcycle.

    Unfortunately for them, policemen were raiding motorcycles flaunting traffic laws in that axis, leading to their arrest and the recovery of a gun.

    According to the police, Isiaka usually pleasured himself by fondling the breasts of his female victims before dispossessing them of their valuables.

    He was said to have confessed that caressing the breasts of his female victims before robbing them made him very happy.

    The suspects, it was gathered, were currently in the custody of operatives of the Federal Anti-Robbery Sqaud ( FSARS), where they disclosed their mode of operation.

    It was learnt that they usually slept near the railway and during work rush hours, waylay their victims,  mostly lone walkers, who they trap in their midst.

    He said: “They target lone figures, put the person in their middle and rob the person. Once they get a victim, Brigadier would bring out gun and order the victim to cooperate with them.

    “Isiaka targets women. Once they catch a female victim, Isiaka would start caressing her breasts. He said that caressing breasts before robbing the person used to make him feel happy.”

    According to the source, Isiaka confessed that the gang once robbed a victim who had dollars, adding that he used his share of the loot to buy a motorcycle, which they used for easy escape.

    “He said he used his share of the money to buy motorcycle and after that,  he started his own operation with Abel. He said they usually robbed at Ebute-Metta, Apapa, Wharf and Ikeja and that he handles the gun,” said the police source.

  • Robbery suspect who fondles victims’ breasts nabbed

    Two robbery suspects were arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command on Monday.

    They are Abdullahi Isiaka and another identified as Abel.

    The duo, it was learnt used to be members of a four-man gang including Governor and Brigadier, who have since been arrested.

    They were nabbed around Ijora-Badia on Monday morning, while they were going for an operation on their motorcycle.

    Unfortunately for them, policemen were raiding motorcycles flouting traffic laws in that axis, leading to their arrest and the recovery of a gun.

    According to the police, Isiaka usually pleasured himself by fondling the breasts of his female victims before dispossessing them of their valuables.

    He was said to have confessed that caressing the breasts of his female victims before robbing them made him very happy.

    The suspects, it was gathered, are currently in the custody of operatives of the Federal Anti-Robbery Sqaud ( FSARS), where they disclosed their mode of operation.

    It was learnt that they usually slept near the railway and during work rush hours, waylay their victims, mostly lone walkers, who they trap in their midst.

    He said: “They target lone figures, put the person in their middle and rob the person. Once they get a victim, Brigadier would bring out gun and order the victim to cooperate with them.

    “Isiaka targets women. Once they catch a female victim, Isiaka would start caressing her breasts. He said that caressing breasts before robbing the person used to make him feel happy.”

    According to the source, Isiaka confessed that the gang once robbed a victim who had dollars, adding that he used his share of the loot to buy a motorcycle, which they used for easy escape.

    “He said he used his share of the money to buy motorcycle and after that,  he started his own operation with Abel. He said they usually robbed at Ebute-Metta, Apapa, Wharf and Ikeja and that he handles the gun,” said the police source.

  • 27-year-old docked for ‘rape, robbery’

    A 27-year-old man, Festus Oyetola, was yesterday docked at the High Court in Osogbo, Osun State for allegedly raping two women.

    Oyetola was also arraigned for allegedly robbing eight other people.

    The charge sheet said the suspect committed the offence at Moro, Ipetu on November 27, 2012 with some other persons now at large.

    According to the charge sheet, the suspect was armed when he raped the victims.

    Appearing in court yesterday, the accused pleaded not guilty to all the thirteen charge.

    It was gathered that Oyetola was 23 when he was arrested by the police for the offences and his gang members are yet to be arrested.

    He initially appeared before a magistrate’s court but was referred to the high court because the charges against him are criminal and not within the jurisdiction of a magistrate’s court. He failed to secure a bail and since then had been remanded in Ife Prison.

    Justice Eunice Awolalu adjourned the case till April 13.

  • 17 ABUAD students remanded for ‘robbery, arson’

    17 ABUAD students remanded for ‘robbery, arson’

    An Ado-Ekiti Chief Magistrate’s  Court yesterday ordered 17 students of the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), who are on trial for their alleged involvement in Sunday’s violence, remanded in prison custody for alleged arson and attempted robbery.

    The accused – 16 men and one woman- were remanded in police custody on Tuesday when they were arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on rioting, illegal possession of firearms and malicious damage to school property.

    But their hope of returning to the campus to conclude their exams was dashed when new charges were added to the charge sheet.

    Police Prosecutor Samuel Osobu told the court that the accused on February 7 unlawfully committed arson by setting on fire houses belonging to ABUAD security staff.

    Osobu also told the court that the accused burgled the boutique belonging to the wife of ABUAD Founder, Mrs. Modupe Babalola, located inside the Talent Discovery Centre on the campus.

    The prosecutor also told the court that the accused also attempted to rob a branch of WEMA Bank on the campus.

    The offences, according to him, violated Section 443 (a), 411 (2) and 403 of the Criminal Code Cap C16, Laws of Ekiti State of Nigeria 2016.

    Osobu disclosed that he had had forwarded the case to the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.

    At yesterday’s proceedings, the pleas of the accused were not taken as their lawyers, Peter Ogunkinle and Chris Omokhafe and eight others, sought an adjournment, pending the advice from the DPP’s office.

    Chief Magistrate Adesoji Adegboye ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody, pending the receipt of advice from the DPP.

    He adjourned the matter till Friday for further hearing.