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Tag: SARS

  • Lotto agent, others held for alleged robbery

    Lotto agent, others held for alleged robbery

    A 26-year-old former Lotto Agent, Gbolahan Lawal, has been arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) for alleged robbery. He was arrested with two others, Monday Obebe, 28, and Benette Kwam, 20, (a Ghanaian).

    Three others are still at large.

    The three suspects, according to the police, are members of a six-man gang, that specialises in snatching vehicles and house-to-house robbery in Ijora, Ikorodu, Bariga, Oworonshoki of Lagos state.

    They were arrested at Ijora Seven Up on January 17, following a robbery at Bariga where  the snatched a car.  SARS operatives tracked them down and recovered four guns used in the operation.

    The suspects, were paraded before reporters yesterday. Lawal said:  “I am single and I live with my sister at Ijora.  I was a Lotto agent before I joined armed robbery gang.  I am from Adegbayi area in Oyo State.

    “That fateful day, we went for armed robbery operation we were six in number.  We all met at Bariga at about 1.30pm, we used four guns.  I collected the one I used from a cult boy named  Yusuf. I have participated in five armed robbery operations in Ajah, Orile, Bariga twice and Oworonshoki.  We snatched cars and collected phones, laptops and money.”

    Obebe said.  “I am from Igbokoda Village in Ilaje area of Ondo State. I am a plumber and I reside in Ijora. I left plumbing for armed robbery because I was no longer getting plumbing jobs; I started with street boys who engaged in street fighting.  We used street fighting to loot shops and rob people.”

    Kwam said: “ I am a foreigner I came from Takwarade town in Ghana, I went into sand loading when I came to Bariga, Nigeria.  It was the boys in Ilaje, Bariga that told me that they can get any type of car or jeep for me to sell if I can go into selling stolen vehicles.  I decided to settle in Cotonou and Ghana, because I knew the environment better there. When they bring the stolen car I pay them reasonable amount but I don’t sell the vehicle to Nigerians and I don’t change, the engine number, chassis numbers and plate numbers.  You don’t need vehicle document to sell stolen vehicle on Ghana, Cotonou and Seme area.  Initially I used to arrange robbery against yahoo boys because they are very stingy but when I discovered that the gang members were cheating me I started going to rob with them.  If I see any of them with cash up to N10, 000 we storm his house in the night and rob him.”

  • Hemp odour exposes robbery suspect

    Hemp odour exposes robbery suspect

    His bag attracted the police attention and he was asked the content.

    A peep into the bag and the policeman was hit by the pungent smell of Indian hemp and he screamed.

    That was not all. A search revealed two guns hidden inside the bag. This discovery led to the arrest of Amos Kuesi (24) by a plain-clothe policeman at the popular Pen Cinema Roundabout in Agege, a Lagos suburb. He  is being held by the Lagos State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) .

    The Ogoni, Rivers State-born suspect, who claims to be a generator repairer, told The Nation yesterday that he took to armed robbery when he could not raise money to pay his rent in Lagos.

    Kuesi, who said he never told his fiance that he was into robbery for fear of losing her, stated: “I only told her that I do some runs which fetch me money. I am a victim of circumstances. I have been going for armed robbery operations and I used to be careful not to be caught. This time, I was careless.

    “I had accommodation problem. My rent expired in  November. I complained to my friend, Ifeanyi, when we went to play football in Rivers that I had a problem paying my expired rent. He promised to help me. But he told me that he had a bag which I would help him deliver to one man, Soti in Lagos, adding that Soti would give me N50,000 upon delivering the bag to him. He also gave me N20,000 covering my transport and feeding.”

    Kuesi said his friend told him that the bag contained  Indian hemp, ladding that unknown to him, it also contained guns.

    “When I reached Lagos, I wanted to pass through the Pen Cinema Roundabout but a policeman in plain-clothe accosted me and Soti, who was there to collect the bag. The policeman demanded to know the content of the bag. I told him I had two clothes (a shirt and a pair of trousers). When the policeman opened the bag, he smelt the odour of Indian hemp and screamed. Who are you that you have the courage to carry this quantity of Indian hemp? Are you a madman? He asked. Before I could answer one of the questions, Soti took to his heels,” Kuesi said.

    Soti’s escape, according to the suspect, prompted the policeman to hold him. “He immediately dragged me to the Pen Cinema Police Station.

    “When the policeman searched the bag thoroughly at the station,” the suspect said, “he discovered two guns, four cartridges and about N16,000 which was left on me.”

    Kuesi, who said he was later transferred to SARS’ Scorpion House in Ikeja, Lagos, added: “I confessed that I am an armed robber, but that I was not caught robbing at the Pen Cinema where I was arrested. I also told him that I did not know that Ifeanyi put two locally made short guns and four cartridges inside the bag he gave me to deliver to Soti.”

    The suspect has promised to help the SARS operatives to arrest Ifeanyi and Soti.

    The command’s image maker, Ken Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the report.

  • Robbery suspects paraded in Oyo

    Robbery suspects paraded in Oyo

    The police in Oyo State have arrested five suspects for their alleged involvement in a robbery at an agricultural company in Challenge, Ibadan.

    Commissioner of Police Kola Sodipo said they were arrested on November 4 after investigation by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

    The suspects are Adamas Yinus, Ojo Olawale, Lukman Raimi, Surajudeen Dauda and Ike Anabi.

    “When they raided the company, they dispossessed the company’s clients of huge sums of money and phones; the managing director of the company was also injured.

    “When they were arrested, they jointly confessed and admitted that they killed a police sergeant at Agugu and stole his rifle. It was the rifle they used for the operation,” he said.

    An inter-state shop breaker, Akanji Babatunde Femi (35), was also paraded with stolen goods worth millions.

     

  • Suspected killers of Newswatch editor arrested

    Suspected killers of Newswatch editor arrested

    OPERATIVES of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command, have arrested four of the eight-man armed robbery gang that killed the deputy editor of Daily Newswatch, Mr Toyin Obadina, on February 1.

    The journalist was shot dead in the Lucky Fibre Area of Ikorodu at about 1.30 am. His body and vehicle were abandoned at the scene of the incident.

    The four suspects are Adeshina Festus, 21; Babatunde Makinde, 25; Sunday Samuel, 22 and Ibrahim Adeokin, 22.

    The two suspects now at large, according to police sources, are Ola Sheu and  Omo Alhaja. The remaining two members of the gang were said to have been shot dead during an exchange of fire with the police in another operation.

    Items recovered from the suspects are: two locally made single-barrel cut-to-size guns; 12 rounds of live cartridges; one Nissan Xterra Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) marked ISD 780 BJ, and a Toyota Yaris car marked AKD 701 CE.

    Parading the suspects yesterday, Commissioner of Police Kayode Aderanti said their arrest came on the heels of a tip the command got about some armed robbers hiding in the Mile 12 area where they were planning to unleash terror on residents.

    Based on the information, he said, “a team of crack detectives led by the officer in charge of SARS, Superintendent of Police (SP) Abba Kyari, swung into action and burst the criminals’ hideout in the Ajelogo/Akanimodo area of Mile 12 during which the suspects were arrested.

    A search conducted on the suspects, he said, led to the recovery of two locally made single-barrel short guns with 12 rounds of live cartridges.

    Aderanti also said that during interrogation, the suspects confessed to belonging to an eight-man gang of armed robbers that had been terrorising the state and its environs.

    “They also confessed to being responsible for the killing of the owner of a Toyota Yaris Salon car marked AKD 701 CE which they snatched and later abandoned with the owner’s corpse at Lucky Fibre Area, Ikorodu on February 1, 2014 at about 1.30am and the victim was later discovered to be Mr. Toyin Obadina, Deputy Editor of Daily Newswatch newspaper,” Aderanti said.

    The gang, the police chief said, used a Nissan Xterra SUV marked ISD 780 BJ, which it snatched from one Mr. Segun Afolabi to block and rob the late journalist before the gang’s leader, Oke, shot him dead.

    Their confession, he said, led detectives to Ikorodu where Adesina Festus and Sunday Samuel (aka Junior Junior) were arrested. He said they confessed to the crime and other robbery operations in and outside Lagos.

    Defending himself, Sunday said: “I was inside our operational vehicle when Oke and Benjamin, another member of our gang, went to meet the late editor in his car after we blocked him. Oke was “dragging” with him over what I did not know before Oke shot him dead. We were driving two cars, Sienna and Toyota Camry, which we snatched from other victims. We used one of our cars to block him. I am from Alaka Town in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State. I am a transporter; I stole all my vehicles, which I converted for commercial use.”

    Babatunde said: “Our intention was only to collect the man’s (Obadina’s) mobile set, but he was ‘dragging’ with Oke, hence Oke shot him.”

    Ibrahim said he was in the car with Adesina when the police arrested him, adding that he did not participate in the operation that led to Obadina’s killing.

    Adesina said he was inside their operational car when Oke shot the deputy editor, but confessed that he was the one that blocked his car before he was shot dead.

    Aderanti said that the arrest of Obadina’s killers “shows that you can only run when you commit crime but cannot hide from justice, especially within my command.”

    He also said investigation was ongoing over the killing The Sun Director, Dimgba Igwe, by a hit-and-run driver. The Commissioner urged the public to give the command information that could lead to the arrest of the culprit.

  • 40 cars recovered as Oyo police arrest 20

    40 cars recovered as Oyo police arrest 20

    The police in Oyo State have arrested 22 robbery suspects.

    Police Commissioner Kola Sodipo, at a briefing, said the police recovered 40 vehicles.

    He said: “On July 22, a pastor reported at Sanyo police station, Ibadan that on July 21 at 11:45pm, four robbery suspects with cutlass and guns stole his laptop, IPad, phones, N140,000, Toyota Corolla and Mercedes Benz car.

    “Nine suspects were arrested. They include Ayodele Ademola, Oluwatobi Afolabi, Olufemi Morakinyo and Azeez Rafiu.

    “On September 30, detectives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Oyo, arrested others.

    “They are Enoch Adebisi, Sunday Awoniyi, Akintomide Samson, who were their perceived receivers.

    “Olorunfemi Thompson and Olamide Tosin allegedly altered the registration numbers of the stolen vehicles.

    “The pastor’s Toyota Corolla was recovered from them along with 21 other vehicles.”

    Sodipo added: “On September 29, some robbery suspects robbed a man, Tajudeen, of his car at Olodo area of Ibadan.

    “On their way, they ran into a shop and the car got stuck. Youths in the area apprehended one of the suspects, Tofunmi Sadiq, with a black toy pistol.

    “This led to the arrest of other gang members in Lagos with six cars. They are: Funso Jeffery, Sunday Okoroji and Joe Uchedundu.

    “On October 1, three suspects- Fred Okunu, Ayo Akinola and Taiwo Fashina- were arrested with five vehicles around Alakia.

    “On October 6, Amaechi Obi and Sola Adebola were arrested at Salvation Army, Ibadan with Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) cables.

    “Two days later, we also arrested a student of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ayo Ahmadu, at Apata junction with 69 mobile phones.

    “The suspects will be charged to court after we conclude our investigations.”

  • Collapsed wall kills three in Oyo

    Collapsed wall kills three in Oyo

    *SARS operatives kill two

    THREE persons have been killed and many others injured at the weekend at Ilogbo area of Oyo town, Oyo State, after a wall of a dilapidated residential building collapsed on them.

    The building was said to have been earlier deserted by tenants following complaints about its state.

    Some residents, who sell electronic gadgets near the building, used its wall as cover from the sun while displaying their products for sale.

    But on the ill-fated day, the electronics sellers and other residents were sitting behind the wall in the evening when it collapsed.

    Three persons died instantly, while yet to be confirmed number of others sustained injuries and taken to hospital for treatment.

    The whereabouts of the owner of the house was still unknown as at yesterday.

    But angry youths protested over the incident, storming the building with an intention to burn it.

    The timely intervention of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, saved the situation from degenerating into violence.

    The Alaafin reportedly sent an emissary to commiserate with the deceased families. He also appealed for calm and peaceful conduct of residents.

    In another development, men of the Oyo/Ogbomoso annex of the Special

    Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) have foiled a robbery operation at Mabolaje area of the ancient town and killed two of the robbers.

    The Nation learnt that the gunmen robbed a woman of her Toyota Camry on Sallah day, which was reported to the SARS men.

    Following a tip-off after an intensive search, the SARS operatives traced the stolen vehicle and engaged the robbers in a shootout, which led to the killing of two of the three-man gang.

    A source said the third robber was arrested after sustaining gun-shot wounds and was helping the men of SARS in their investigation.

  • Three held ‘for burgling gold stores’

    Three held ‘for burgling gold stores’

    Three suspects have been arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command for allegedly stealing jewellery valued at over N23 million from a shop.

    A police source said the incident occurred at a shop owned by a woman, simply identified as Mrs. Ekong, on Unity Road, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja in Lagos.

    It said the prime suspect, Moses Obanda was arrested in his hideout at Agege, a day after, while the others were apprehended last week.

    Obanda and the other suspects, Ogbulaja Ogaba and Izuchukwu Ezeobi, are currently being interrogated by operatives, following a report by the

    Obanda, who was a security guard at the gold shop, was alleged to have carried out the operation alone as the two others he invited did not show up.

    The police source also claimed that he had been charged with kidnapping and murder in the past after his gang killed a victim along the Ibadan-Sagamu Road after collected a ransom.

    Explaining the tricks of the gang, the source said its members would secure employment as security guards in gold stores and supermarkets with the intention of robbing them.

    The suspects usually use fake certificates, fake house addresses and unregistered SIM cards to seek employment, making it almost impossible to trace them after they had struck, said the source.

    The source said after the shop was burgled, Obanda invited his accomplices to a hotel at Bolade in Oshodi, where they discussed how to share and sell the gold.

    “Ogaba got 35 pieces of the gold, which he sold to one Jubril Garba for N80,000. Obanda took the remaining to Yaba and sold it at a giveaway price of N1m and another for N105,000,” it said.

    After the deal, Obanda allegedly moved his family to Benue State to evade arrest, opened a hair-dressing saloon for his wife and started plank business.

    Obanda, who lives at Olufunmilayo Close, Agbado Ijaiye, a Lagos suburb, said he secured employment into the store in October, 2013 with the fake certificates belonging to his younger brother.

    “On December 22, last year, we bought chemicals with which we softened the wall. But I knew where they kept the keys of the stores which I used to open the place. That was the first time I would open the place. I decided to do the burglary alone because I had done a similar burglary before, which took me to the Alausa Police Division. I spent five days in detention,” he confessed.

    Benue State-born Ogaba, who said Obanda invited him for the operation, explained: “One morning, he told me that he had carried it out alone, asking me to meet him at a location. There, he gave me 35 pieces to sell for him. I did and got N80,000, but I could not find him to deliver the money. He told me later on phone that he had gone to Benue and that I should enjoy the money. I used the money for my siblings’ examinations.”

    Izuchukwu, who hails from Anambra State, who said he was not involved in the act, however, said: “I only provided him with a buyer called Ibrahim, but I did not get any money from whatever amount he sold it. I am innocent.”

  • ‘Fake soldier’, others held for alleged robbery

    ‘Fake soldier’, others held for alleged robbery

    A 48-year-OLD man, Sikiru Aderemi (a.k.a Papi or Commander), who has allegedly been parading himself as an Army Sergeant, has been arrested.

    His four accomplices were also arrested by operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command.

    The suspect, who resides at 48, Olowu Street, Sango in Ogun State, claimed to be attached to the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) in Lagos.

    He was accused of using his fake identity to dispossess his victims of their valuables.

    Other suspects include: Saheed Akeem, 28, a fashion designer who hails from Ogun State, Dosson Patrick, 28, a Benin Republic national and a locally made gun merchant; Rasak Plariwaju, 37, a Kwara State-born battery charger and Jamiu Adeyemi, who hails from Ilesha in Osun State.

    A source said the suspects specialised in impersonating soldiers and using military uniform and identity cards to intimidate their victims before robbing them on the highways.

    Following petitions by some victims, Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Umar Manko, directed the officer in charge, Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police (SP) to take over the case.

    Kyari, it was learnt, swung into action with his team and arrested the “fake” sergeant and his accomplices.

    Sikiru, who confessed being a fake sergeant, said: “One Saidi told me that there was somebody with N18million in the State House, Abuja; I told him that I would arrange my boys to collect the money. I have my identity card as an Army Sergeant attached to DMI Lagos.  He also told the Police that he makes money through escorting smugglers. Whenever I escort smuggled goods to Mile 2 from Seme, I do collect my 10 per cent.”

    Sikiru who described himself as a 1987 Mass Communication graduate from the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, said he did his industrial attachment at the DMI.

    He said that based on his experience at the DMI as an errand boy, he recruited three boys “to make cool money.”  He said he also had some vocational studies in Interior Designs after an industrial training at the DMI.

    “In 2002, I met a friend, James Imada, who gave me an ID card and beret of a Sergeant. In 2012, I met another person called Mopol Tunde through another man, Wole, at Campus Square. It was Tunde who introduced me to car snatching,” he said.

    While Rasak said his role was to drive his gang members during operations, Jamiu said he was arrested by policemen who stopped and searched his commercial bus and found ammunition on him.

     

  • Suspected kidnappers’den demolished in Anambra

    Suspected kidnappers’den demolished in Anambra

    •Police arrest 17

    Anambra State Police Command demolished yesterday two buildings belonging to suspected kidnappers at Ogidi and Ojoto in Idemili North and South local governments.

    Police Commissioner Usman Gwary led the demolition squad, which included the Commander of the State Anti-robbery Squad (SARS), James Nwafor.

    He said the owners of the buildings were at large.

    Gwary said: “The suspects kept about 14 victims and earned over N100 million.

    “Governor Willie Obiano has revoked the certificates of ownership of the buildings and has ordered their demolition

    “Any building used for crime or built with the proceeds from crime will be demolished.”

    Also paraded were 17 suspects involved in kidnapping, armed robbery and hijacking of goods. The girls involved in faking number plates and driving licences were equally paraded.

    The three suspects involved in the diversion of vehicles conveying goods are Ndubuisi Udokoro, Lawrence Nweze and Moredays Chukwuma, who was arrested two years ago and released by a court for a similar offence.

    Police spokesman Emeka Chukwuemeka told reporters that the suspects were accused of diverting trailers carrying tissues, refrigerators and chemicals, adding that their method of operation was to arrest the owners of the vehicles, tie them, blindfold them and carry away their goods.

    He said they had been in the business for a long time, adding that 600 bags of chemical for plastics found in a warehouse in Asaba, Delta State were confiscated.

    Two persons said to be dealing in ammunition, Chigozie Ezeora and Chukwudi Ugwu, were also arrested.

    Nnaemeka Ugonna and Onyeka Okoli were nabbed in Onitsha for robbing with motorcycles.

    Five girls, Oluchukwu Yoko from Ezza in Ebonyi State, Charity Ahue from Gboko in Benue State, Odo Maryann from Enugu in Enugu State, Chukwueloka Chioma from Nnewi in Anambra State and Orji Chinelo from Ohazara in Ebonyi State were arrested for faking products.

    Chukwuemeka said they were nabbed in Nnewi, adding that they specialised in producing fake number plates and driving licences.

  • 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.”