I graduated from pickpocket to robber, says suspect

 

A 22-year-old man being held for robbery and murder by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos said that he regretted graduating from a pickpocket to a robber.
The suspect, Akeem Adesina, said that if he had remained a pickpocket, he would not be in SARS custody now and charged for robbery and murder.
On his very first operation, one of his gang members had shot and killed a man whose home they invaded. After killing the man, rather than run away from the area, the members had proceeded to rob people going for early morning prayers of their valuables.
When police finally caught them, Adesina refused to admit to murder instead he told policemen that he and his gang members were on operation ‘Stop-and-Search;” which means to stop and search innocent citizens and collect their valuables.
He said: “My best friend is Abawon Kehinde. He convinced me to join robbery. I regret going to rob with them.
Had it been I knew that I would land here in SARS custody, I would have continued with my pick pocket job. At least nobody would have arrested me.”
Adesina knew that Kehinde was a robber, but felt that teaming up with him would give him a new financial status.
How wrong. He landed in police custody for attempting to rebrand his criminal life. “Kehinde said that we should go to Jebba at Oyingbo.
He told me that we were going for ‘tigba bo’ operation. It means ‘to kick and break down the door,’ something like breaking and entering. We had a gun. Another had a machete.
We were four that went for the operation. The others had been going before, but that was the first I would be partaking in robbery or stealing where a gun was used.
My former job was to pick pocket. I used to cut open pockets of people sleeping and collect their money or phones.” Adesina gave the names of others as Luckyand Sule. “Although Kehinde is small in stature, he is the leader,” he added.
Describing the mode of the gang’s operation, Adesina said that they would leave home at ungodly hours, roam any area that tickles their fancy and pick any home to rob at random.
On that fateful day, Kehinde saw a two-storey building and pointing to the first floor, told his men that he suspected that someone who had money lived there.
Adesina said: “We don’t have target. We just move round and pick any building at random.
Kehinde is small so he easily climbed the balcony to the first floor. He opened the curtains and said we would get money from that house. “Lucky was the person holding machete. He climbed and followed Kehinde.
The next person holding gun was Sule. He gave me his gun and climbed up. He now asked me to hand over the gun to him.
He said I should be watching down in case there was any problem. “They opened the window and attempted to open the gate.
But the owner heard the sound of the gate and started shouting: Who is that? Who is that? Sule showed him the gun, and ordered him to stop right there.
“Maybe the man just woke up and did not hear or maybe he thought it was a toy gun, he started struggling with Sule to collect the gun. “Sule opened fire.
The man fell down. People in the compound started shouting.
People living on the second floor looked down and also joined in shouting. They started throwing things at us. My friends rushed down from the balcony and we left the place.”
After the botched robbery and murder of the owner of the house, one would have expected the gang to go underground.