I robbed to settle my drug case in court

Twenty-four-year-old Ibik Emmanuel, who was arrested for attempting to snatch a Honda car from two women at the Ajah area of Lagos State, said that he committed the crime because he desperately needed money to settle his drug related case at a high court.

Emmanuel was arrested at the Lekki/Ajah area of the metropolis after he and his friend partner, Chima Tony Agomoh, bought a toy gun and attempted to snatch a Honda car from two ladies.

The ladies surrendered the car and key, but took to screaming at the sight of the gun. The screaming alerted people in the area and they attempted to rescue the women.

Emmanuel’s friend, Agomoh, jumped into the car, kick start it and drove away, leaving Emmanuel at the mercy of the crowd. The crowd pounced on him. He said that he would have been lynched alive, but some people prevailed on the crowd to hand him over to Moroko Police Station Policemen.

He said: “I bought the toy gun N400 from Eke Awka Market in Anambra State. I was the one that pointed the gun at the women. It was a toy gun, operating with a battery. It can’t kill; rather it makes noise like gunshot. A person, who doesn’t have ‘liver,’ will fear and shake. I could not escape with Chima because I thought the car would not move. But to my surprise, Chima drove off with it. He abandoned me.”

Emmanuel said that he never wanted to get into crime, but was desperate after his boss, whom he used to traffick Indian hemp and cocaine for, abandoned him and disappeared after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), arrested him.

He said that he was charged to a Federal High Court in Anambra State, where he had to settle to perfect and get his bail. Even after the bail, he realized that he still needed more money to ensure the case was trashed for good.
The Lagos State Police Spokesman, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the arrest of Emmanuel, adding that the police had already spread its dragnet to get Chima, the fleeing member.

His words: “Emmanuel was arrested on February 23, 2015 at Lekki, where he and Chima, snatched a Honda Accord car, with registration number EK 804 LSD. The car belongs to one Mrs. Dupe Agonoma. It was snatched at gun point. Even if Chima runs into an ant hole, we’ll get him! It’s only a matter of time!”
The suspect who said he regretted taking to crime, explained that he used to work as a security guard in a company before he became a drug trafficker.

He said: “I used to sell drugs, especially Indian hemp and cocaine for my master, Mr. Ifeanyi Okoye a.k.a Perfect Man, at Enugu Ukwu, Anambra State. He pays me N1, 500. I later went to Umuahia Abia State with some of the drugs to sale. Unfortunately, I was arrested by NDLEA. I was charged to Federal High Court Awka, on October 23, 2013 and remanded on 12 March. I perfected my bail and went to Umuahia to meet my master, to get money for my case. I had planned to steal his car if he refused to give me money. But I got there and discovered he had run away. NDLEA even seized his car!”

Disappointed and with pressure mounting, he returned to Lagos and together, he and Agomoh decided to rob. “We saw two ladies in a Honda Accord 2.3 and ordered the two ladies to come down at gun point. They started shouting thieves. Tony zoomed off, leaving me behind. The crowds pursued me. They caught and beat me up.”