But if you think he was hoping to hit it big and make millions, you’re sadly mistaken.
According to him, for all the risks he ran in the deadly operations, his share most times was a mere N2000. He stood out from the other suspects because of his age.
Singing like a bird, Arowolo confessed that his friend who recruited him, told him without mincing words that his share would be N2000 after each operation. He said he didn’t care that the money was insignificant because he was desperate to survive.
He blamed his predicament on officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA). He explained that since LASTMA impounded his bus because he drove on the BRT lane, life had never been the same for him again. He said that he would have coped if he had to think of himself alone, but he has a live-in-lover, whom he must take care of at all cost.
He loves her, he said, and they had been dating for four years. Arowolo, from Ugbono in Kwara State, left his village and parents and relocated to Lagos State, in search of greener pastures when he was just a teenager.
He got a job as a bus conductor. Later, he graduated from being a conductor to a driver. He was among 13 suspects recently paraded by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps at their office, in Alausa Ikeja. Fielding questions from our correspondent, Arowolo said things had been hard for him. He said he didn’t understand why things always turned out sore for him, including his sojourn into oil theft.
He said: “My friend initiated me into this business. He promised to get me a job, but I never knew this was the sort of job he had in mind. I used to be a bus driver. Exactly six months ago, LASTMA officials seized my bus for driving on the BRT lane. Ever since then, I’ve been living from hand to mouth.
“Things were getting bad every time until I ran into my friend at a bus park.” Seeing that his friend was smartly dressed, Arowolo felt the guy was doing a good job that was bringing in a tidy monthly income. He quickly spilled out his troubles to him.
Arowolo recounted: “He later gave me a bus. He said I should be using the bus to assist him transport petrol from Lagos to Benine Republic. He also told me that for every successful trip I made, I would be given N2000 as my share.”
Another suspect, who set tongues wagging was 72-year-old Michael Dansu. The old man said he has two wives, five children and 19 grandchildren. Dansu, a fisherman, pleaded guilty to oil theft. He insisted that the desperation to make enough money to take care of his large family pushed him into crime.
He said: “I’m a fisherman on the high sea, but for some time now, we’ve been unable to catch fish. One day, my friend, Kwame, told me to join him in transporting petrol to Togo; that he would pay me the sum of N15, 000. I went with him because of the money. I never knew I would be caught.” Jacob Apaloo, 43, a Ghanaian fisherman based in Benin Republic and married with three kids, also admitted being involved in oil theft.
He explained that he was deceived by his friend who never told him the nature of business until it was too late. Apaloo said: “I usually catch and sell fish for survival but because of the scarcity of fish in the sea these days, I hearkened to Kwame. Kwame called me to join him to do business on the high sea. But he didn’t tell me what it was all about.
When I pressed him, he promised to explain when we see. Unfortunately, we met at the site of the operation and we were racing against time. Thus,. he couldn’t tell me anything. It was only after we were arrested that I realised I had participated in oil theft!” Kwame Tola, 40, also called Captain, is a Ghanaian. He denied introducing anybody into the illicit business. Like others, he also claimed to have been called by a friend to take part in the operation but adamantly refused to mention the name of the person that invited him.
His words: “A friend of mine told me to join him in illegal oil bunkering. He promised to pay me N15, 000 after every operation. Unfortunately, this was my first operation.” NSCDC State Commandant, Mr. Gabriel Abaffi, explained that six of the suspects were arrested on August 5, 2015, by the Nigeria Navy Ship Beecroft.
Abaffi said: “The six suspects were in possession of 81 drums of 250 litres each of a petroleum product on their way to Benin Republic on Lagos waters around 12:15a.m. The other seven suspects were arrested by the NSCDC members on Badagry Expressway, on August 7, with 706 kegs of 25 litres each of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), around 8p.m. They were attempting to move the items to Benin, Togo and Ghana.”http://newtelegraphonline.com/lastma-officials-drove-me-into-crime-suspect/
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