A
34-year-old man, who was nabbed by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad
(SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command, has declared that his father
retired as the leader of an armed robbery gang.
The man, who gave his name as Akinola Olarewaju, was a member of a dangerous six-man armed robbery gang before he was arrested. He also gave the names of other members of the gang to include Femi Enuyemi, aka JJ, who he calls master and leader of the gang. Femi is said to be from Ondo State.
Others are Felix Enuyemi (Femi’s brother), aka Askari; Keshi also from Ondo State; Emmanuel Ogbonna, aged 25, from Eziwachi in the Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State; and one Obed Odeme from Eziogbaku in the Owerri Local Government Area of Imo State.
According to Akinlola’s account, he trained as a motor mechanic. But he could not raise money to buy working tools. His attempt to get his father to assist him did not yield any positive result. And when he turned to his father’s friend, he was not forthcoming.
“Go and do what your father knows how to do best, and you would raise the money to buy working tools”.
In his words: “I am a motor mechanic, but I didn’t have a workshop. Anytime I asked my father and his friend, who I usually called father when my real father neglected me, to help me buy working tools and to get a workshop, he laughed at me and advised me to do what my father used to do.
“With time, I started doing loading and off-loading at Breweries in Costain, Surulere area of Lagos, just to avoid being idle. I stayed with my sister,Nikere, at Surulere . With time, I became uncomfortable with my sister as she always warned me to stay away from bad boys, so that I would not end up doing what my father did until he retired.
“My freedom came when Femi, aka JJ, visited me and advised me to come and live with him in Ajah, so that I would learn how to become a millionaire without doing much.
“When I got to his room and parlour apartment at Lakure in Ajah, he told me that I should feel free because he was living with only one wife as those he divorced went their different ways after giving him children ”, he said.
That was to mark the beginning of his initiation into armed robbery. At night, his friend and host, JJ, invited the rest members of the gang and asked him to join in the meeting that was to hold. The initiation was simple.
JJ told him that he was in the midst of armed robbers and that he would want him to join, even though it was voluntary. Upon his decision to join the group, each member of the group hit Akinola hard on the head and was made to kiss a locally made gun. That was all. For the celebration of a new convert, the group smoked large quantity of Indian hemp, drank assorted beer and smoked cigarettes.
His first outing was the following day at Epe. But before the operation, he was told to be a man and informed the other members of the group that indeed they had a lion in their midst. JJ declared to the rest members of the gang that “armed robbery runs in the family of Akinola.“
The Epe operation was successful. The five -man gang snatched a Toyota Camry car which JJ sold for N350,000 to a ready buyer. He was given N70,000. JJ ensured that the money realised was shared equally.
His second outing was in his state of Ondo. The gang snatched a vehicle which was sold for N300,000 and each member got N60,000.
He confessed to be very good at torturing their victims.
“I am good at torturing victims and that is why we get extra cash during operation because our victims reveal where they hide their money when I start torturing them. I can’t torture them to death, but they will never forget the experience”, he said.
The third operation was at Ajah. The gang snatched a Honda Bulldog car and sold it for N450,000 and N50,000 was given to every member of the gang. He said they were always five in number as every member had a vital role to play for the gang to be successful in its operation.
His fourth and last operation was on the way to Epe. He could not recollect the brand of the car. He, however, described it as a “very fine and modern car”. JJ took it away for sale and, as usual, shared the money.
“We did the operation in October last year, but we were arrested on November 25 along Epe Road, he said.”
It happened that JJ was to do the burial of his paternal grandmother which was to be November 26. It was while on the road to the place that himself and two others were arrested.
“We boarded a commercial car. We were three, myself, Obed and Ogbonna. There were other three passengers and the driver making it seven passengers. Then, men of the Federal Highway Patrol stopped and searched us. They searched everywhere. The way they were searching us showed that SARS operatives would have signalled them that the men they were looking for were inside that car.
“They searched thoroughly and turned every bag upside down. When they searched the student bag we put under the seat, they saw three short guns and bundled all of us, including the driver, to Elemoro Police Station. From there, they took us to Ajiwe Police Station in Ajah .
“ On the second day when they wanted to transfer us to SARS Police Headquarters ,GRA, Ikeja, the team leader, Supol Adamson, asked me whether I knew the driver and the other three passengers, and I said I did not know them. I told him that I boarded the car with Emma and Obed as passengers and others were released and we were taken to SARS.
“I would like to tell you something important please. Femi’s mother and my father are from the same father and mother, so when he called me to come and stay with him, I did not argue. I stayed with him and did whatever he wanted me to do. He also inherited robbery” he stated.
He, however, claimed to have been born again , saying he would like to go to a living church for a thanksgiving, if set free.
As for the second suspect, Emmanuel Ogbonna , 25, hails from Afikpo. He claimed to be a school dropout . It was when his father died that he came to Lagos in January, 2010.
Once in Lagos, he started off with selling puff-puff. And he was making between N560 to N600 a day. He had learnt how to drive a car before coming to Lagos. He could also ride motorcycle, popularly called okada.
As luck would have it, somebody gave him a motorcycle to ride on a hire-purchase term of N130,000.00. He was delivering N3,500 every week. But somehow, he failed to meet his obligation on two occasions, making it two weeks, totalling N7,000.00. The owner just came one day and seized the motorcycle.
It was a big blow to Ogbonna. Frustrated, he took to smoking and drinking, going from one joint to another. It was in the course of his going about that he met one Dada who took him to JJ.
JJ welcomed Ogbonna with a firm assurance that his life was about to change. He told him what they would be doing and that there were buyers waiting to buy instantly the moment they were able to snatch any car.
The first operation was successful, and from the proceeds, he was able to rent a room and sent some money home for the upkeep of his siblings.
He narrated how his half-brother claimed all their father’s property and drove everybody out of the compound and how he lost his mother and had to fend for his younger ones.
His aim was to save as much as about half a million naira with which he could start a good and profitable business such that at the end of the day, he would be able to challenge his father’s second wife who had made it possible for her son to chase everybody away from the compound.
“The woman is a strong woman with rich men from her family. I could not fight her. I joined an armed robbery gang and targeted N500,000 to start a solid business so that I could challenge the woman and reclaim my father’s property. My father married my mother first and I am the first son of the man. If I regain my freedom, I will run back to my village. I will never come to Lagos to hustle again”, he stated.
The third suspect, Obed Odemene, 21, from Ogbaku village in Imo State, claimed that he dropped out of school at SSS 1 due to the untimely death of his father.
“I lost my father on January 31, 2009. After his burial, I started work at the Nigerian Breweries as an off-loading and loading member of staff. We were paid everyday. The moment you finished your work you lined up for your pay. At times, one could get N3,000 or N3,500, depending on what one loaded or off-loaded.
“I used to save N500. Every month I sent my savings to my brother, sister and mother. There is money in armed robbery. If you have gun, you can’t be hungry. But if you are caught, you will wish you never ventured into it in your life because people will be looking at you as if you are a beast. Imagine, one of the onlookers was annoyed that police were keeping us alive. That is just to show you that people no longer take us as human beings and they don’t believe that if we are given another chance, we will change. That is too bad. I can change, if I am given the opportunity. I was not an armed robber before. So I can still change and become responsible”, he said.
The man, who gave his name as Akinola Olarewaju, was a member of a dangerous six-man armed robbery gang before he was arrested. He also gave the names of other members of the gang to include Femi Enuyemi, aka JJ, who he calls master and leader of the gang. Femi is said to be from Ondo State.
Others are Felix Enuyemi (Femi’s brother), aka Askari; Keshi also from Ondo State; Emmanuel Ogbonna, aged 25, from Eziwachi in the Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State; and one Obed Odeme from Eziogbaku in the Owerri Local Government Area of Imo State.
According to Akinlola’s account, he trained as a motor mechanic. But he could not raise money to buy working tools. His attempt to get his father to assist him did not yield any positive result. And when he turned to his father’s friend, he was not forthcoming.
“Go and do what your father knows how to do best, and you would raise the money to buy working tools”.
In his words: “I am a motor mechanic, but I didn’t have a workshop. Anytime I asked my father and his friend, who I usually called father when my real father neglected me, to help me buy working tools and to get a workshop, he laughed at me and advised me to do what my father used to do.
“With time, I started doing loading and off-loading at Breweries in Costain, Surulere area of Lagos, just to avoid being idle. I stayed with my sister,Nikere, at Surulere . With time, I became uncomfortable with my sister as she always warned me to stay away from bad boys, so that I would not end up doing what my father did until he retired.
“My freedom came when Femi, aka JJ, visited me and advised me to come and live with him in Ajah, so that I would learn how to become a millionaire without doing much.
“When I got to his room and parlour apartment at Lakure in Ajah, he told me that I should feel free because he was living with only one wife as those he divorced went their different ways after giving him children ”, he said.
That was to mark the beginning of his initiation into armed robbery. At night, his friend and host, JJ, invited the rest members of the gang and asked him to join in the meeting that was to hold. The initiation was simple.
JJ told him that he was in the midst of armed robbers and that he would want him to join, even though it was voluntary. Upon his decision to join the group, each member of the group hit Akinola hard on the head and was made to kiss a locally made gun. That was all. For the celebration of a new convert, the group smoked large quantity of Indian hemp, drank assorted beer and smoked cigarettes.
His first outing was the following day at Epe. But before the operation, he was told to be a man and informed the other members of the group that indeed they had a lion in their midst. JJ declared to the rest members of the gang that “armed robbery runs in the family of Akinola.“
The Epe operation was successful. The five -man gang snatched a Toyota Camry car which JJ sold for N350,000 to a ready buyer. He was given N70,000. JJ ensured that the money realised was shared equally.
His second outing was in his state of Ondo. The gang snatched a vehicle which was sold for N300,000 and each member got N60,000.
He confessed to be very good at torturing their victims.
“I am good at torturing victims and that is why we get extra cash during operation because our victims reveal where they hide their money when I start torturing them. I can’t torture them to death, but they will never forget the experience”, he said.
The third operation was at Ajah. The gang snatched a Honda Bulldog car and sold it for N450,000 and N50,000 was given to every member of the gang. He said they were always five in number as every member had a vital role to play for the gang to be successful in its operation.
His fourth and last operation was on the way to Epe. He could not recollect the brand of the car. He, however, described it as a “very fine and modern car”. JJ took it away for sale and, as usual, shared the money.
“We did the operation in October last year, but we were arrested on November 25 along Epe Road, he said.”
It happened that JJ was to do the burial of his paternal grandmother which was to be November 26. It was while on the road to the place that himself and two others were arrested.
“We boarded a commercial car. We were three, myself, Obed and Ogbonna. There were other three passengers and the driver making it seven passengers. Then, men of the Federal Highway Patrol stopped and searched us. They searched everywhere. The way they were searching us showed that SARS operatives would have signalled them that the men they were looking for were inside that car.
“They searched thoroughly and turned every bag upside down. When they searched the student bag we put under the seat, they saw three short guns and bundled all of us, including the driver, to Elemoro Police Station. From there, they took us to Ajiwe Police Station in Ajah .
“ On the second day when they wanted to transfer us to SARS Police Headquarters ,GRA, Ikeja, the team leader, Supol Adamson, asked me whether I knew the driver and the other three passengers, and I said I did not know them. I told him that I boarded the car with Emma and Obed as passengers and others were released and we were taken to SARS.
“I would like to tell you something important please. Femi’s mother and my father are from the same father and mother, so when he called me to come and stay with him, I did not argue. I stayed with him and did whatever he wanted me to do. He also inherited robbery” he stated.
He, however, claimed to have been born again , saying he would like to go to a living church for a thanksgiving, if set free.
As for the second suspect, Emmanuel Ogbonna , 25, hails from Afikpo. He claimed to be a school dropout . It was when his father died that he came to Lagos in January, 2010.
Once in Lagos, he started off with selling puff-puff. And he was making between N560 to N600 a day. He had learnt how to drive a car before coming to Lagos. He could also ride motorcycle, popularly called okada.
As luck would have it, somebody gave him a motorcycle to ride on a hire-purchase term of N130,000.00. He was delivering N3,500 every week. But somehow, he failed to meet his obligation on two occasions, making it two weeks, totalling N7,000.00. The owner just came one day and seized the motorcycle.
It was a big blow to Ogbonna. Frustrated, he took to smoking and drinking, going from one joint to another. It was in the course of his going about that he met one Dada who took him to JJ.
JJ welcomed Ogbonna with a firm assurance that his life was about to change. He told him what they would be doing and that there were buyers waiting to buy instantly the moment they were able to snatch any car.
The first operation was successful, and from the proceeds, he was able to rent a room and sent some money home for the upkeep of his siblings.
He narrated how his half-brother claimed all their father’s property and drove everybody out of the compound and how he lost his mother and had to fend for his younger ones.
His aim was to save as much as about half a million naira with which he could start a good and profitable business such that at the end of the day, he would be able to challenge his father’s second wife who had made it possible for her son to chase everybody away from the compound.
“The woman is a strong woman with rich men from her family. I could not fight her. I joined an armed robbery gang and targeted N500,000 to start a solid business so that I could challenge the woman and reclaim my father’s property. My father married my mother first and I am the first son of the man. If I regain my freedom, I will run back to my village. I will never come to Lagos to hustle again”, he stated.
The third suspect, Obed Odemene, 21, from Ogbaku village in Imo State, claimed that he dropped out of school at SSS 1 due to the untimely death of his father.
“I lost my father on January 31, 2009. After his burial, I started work at the Nigerian Breweries as an off-loading and loading member of staff. We were paid everyday. The moment you finished your work you lined up for your pay. At times, one could get N3,000 or N3,500, depending on what one loaded or off-loaded.
“I used to save N500. Every month I sent my savings to my brother, sister and mother. There is money in armed robbery. If you have gun, you can’t be hungry. But if you are caught, you will wish you never ventured into it in your life because people will be looking at you as if you are a beast. Imagine, one of the onlookers was annoyed that police were keeping us alive. That is just to show you that people no longer take us as human beings and they don’t believe that if we are given another chance, we will change. That is too bad. I can change, if I am given the opportunity. I was not an armed robber before. So I can still change and become responsible”, he said.
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