A 33-year-old father,
who was arrested for armed robbery, has revealed that his desperate need to pay
his daughter’s N20, 000 school fees compelled him to join a robbery gang.
The suspect, Babatunde
Makinde, a printer, said he was frantic to raise his little girl’s school fees
after he heard that school would be resuming on soon after pupils’
long spell
away from school due to checking the Ebola virus spread.
According to him, he
ran to his friend Dayo, who used to always assist him financially. But he was
stunned when he friend, rather than help him as usual, asked to go and look for
someone who would team up with him to go for a robbery operation, which would
fetch them N20m.
The Lagos State
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kayode Aderanti said that Makinde, with his partner
in crime, Faruk Lawal alias Baba-Oba were arrested on Monday, based on tip-off.
Aderanti said that one
locally made double barrel pistol, two locally made single barrel pistols, 28
live cartridges and a Honda Accord Saloon car, marked NH293AAA were recovered
from them.
Aderanti said: “Our men
accosted the Honda Accord at Daleko Roundabout and arrested the two suspects;
Makinde and Lawal. A search conducted on the vehicle led to the recovery of the
guns. The suspects confessed to have snatched the car from the owner at gun
point at Morrocco Street, Alade area of Yaba. They said the third gun belonged
to their member, Dayo. He narrowly escaped police arrest.”
Recalling how Dayo
convinced to join in the operation, Makinde said that his friend told him that
the owner of the money had just returned from London.
“Dayo said I should
look for someone who would go on the operation of stealing the money. I told
him that I have a friend called Baba-Oba, who had just returned from prison. He
was sent to prison after he was arrested for One-Chance Robbery. It’s not even
up to three months that he came out,” recounted Makinde.
When Makinde told Lawal
about the deal, he insisted on meeting Dayo. After discussing with Dayo, Lawal
said that Dayo and Makinde must go on the operation with him.
Makinde said: “Dayo
brought the guns. Baba-Oba took one and gave me another. As we were going, he
saw the Honda Accord car. A guy and a woman were inside. They were romancing.
He went to meet them and brought out the gun. Initially I wanted to run; he
used the gun and slammed on my mouth, splitting.”
Meanwhile, the man who
brought the N20m operation was calling. On the way, the men dropped off the
lovers along Anthony and proceeded with the car.
When they finally
reached the guy, whose name they both claimed not to know, he asked them how
they got the gun. They told him, unaware that he was an undercover police,
posing as robber.
The detectives told
them to wait, that his brother who had just returned London would soon come.
Makinde said that he
left Dayo and Lawal with the policeman to stretch his legs, only to come back
and realized that police had arrested Lawal, while Dayo escaped on a motorbike.
Lawal said that Devil
used his friend, Makinde to force back to crime.
He added: “This is the
second time police would be arresting me. The first time led me to prison for
seven years. I was doing one chance robbery. Policemen on stop and search
flagged us down and searched our bus and found several phones on us. Yes, the
N20m made me decided to join in the operation. I was a bus driver before I went
to prison.”
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