Ojo
The police in Lagos State have arrested a 22-year-old man, Musa Ojo, for armed robbery.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the
suspect was among the prison inmates recently pardoned by the state
government in pursuant to the provisions of Section 1(1) of the Criminal
Justice Release from Custody Special Provision Act, CAP C40, 2007, Laws
of the Federation of Nigeria.
It was learnt that a few weeks after his
release, the suspect, who goes by the pseudonym, Agba Musa, and two
others at large, on September 14, 2013, snatched a Toyota Corolla car
marked LSR 587 AR.
Our correspondent learnt that operatives
of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, who were on patrol duty at the
Ijesha end of Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, sighted the robbers and chased
them.
Police said when the heat became too much for the robbers, they jumped out of the vehicle and took to their heels.
Musa was, however, arrested by SARS men and the vehicle was recovered, while the other two escaped.
Speaking with our correspondent at the
state command headquarters in Ikeja, the suspect said it was not his
initial plan to become an armed robber.
He said, “Initially, I did not want to
be an armed robber. I lived in Ebute Meta and I owned a motorcycle. Two
of my friends told me to give them a ride to Aguda, Surulere. On getting
there, they brought out guns and started robbing people. I swear I did
not know that they were going for an operation. That was how I joined
them.
“I ended up following them for 10
robbery operations. We usually operated in Onike, Yaba, Bariga and
Somolu, where we robbed small shops. Later, we started snatching
vehicles such as Toyota and Honda and we would give a dealer to sell. My
share was always N50,000.
“My gang comprised myself, Kehinde Nice,
Asumo and Nuru. The police arrested Asumo and I, while Nuru was killed.
Kehinde is still on the run.”
The suspect said after spending one and a half years in prison, he and about 80 others were pardoned.
He said he went back to robbery because he was tempted by bad friends and needed money to survive.
While crying profusely, he said, “I
dropped out of school in JSS2 and became an apprentice at a mechanic
workshop but I did not finish my training.
“After sometime, I got a girl pregnant
and became a father with responsibilities. Unfortunately, my father is
late and my mother is old, so I have no one to help me.
“After leaving prison, I started
receiving calls from people that they needed vehicles and I was short of
money. So, I thought to myself that if I could steal just one car, I
would be alright. I did not know that police had been on my trail from
the day I was released.”
The Oyo State indigene asked the police to give him one more chance, promising that he would not return to his old ways.
“I never killed anyone during my robberies, please. If they can spare me one last time, I will be grateful,” he said.
Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Damasus Ozoani, said the suspect would be charged to court for armed robbery.
PUNCH
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