A member of a 3-man armed robbery gang whose operations had been a thorn
in the lives of residents and motorists around Mile 2 and Apapa areas of Lagos
State has blamed his involvement in robbery on poverty.
The suspect also attributed the success of their operations to
‘motorcycles’ which helped members of the gang to escape from scenes of robbery
operations.
The suspect, Ese Ebrorhie was a few days ago arrested by operatives of
the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), who foiled an attempt by members of the gang to
unleash mayhem on law abiding residents of the state.
Two members of the gang escaped with a locally - made double barrel gun and
a pistol, while Ese was nabbed by the vigilant policemen, who in his confessional
statement to the police, he said that he joined the robbery syndicate to source
for livelihood.
"I bought a fairly used motorcycle popularly known as okada which
developed small problem and there was nobody to help me, so I joined the gang
to raise funds to repair the okada "Ese said.
The suspect explained how his gang usually perpetrated their crime,
"we operated at dawn around 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. and at night from 9:00
p.m. We rob only commercial buses by pretending to be passengers at bus stop
around Mile 2 and Apapa"
He also continued that "Once inside the bus, the gang leader simply
identified as Zubby, who is holding one of our guns, will hold the bus driver
hostage while we began to rob and dispossess every passenger of their belongings.
After the operation, we disembarked and mounted our waiting bike moving beside
the bus to escape".
"I have gone on three operations with them. The first operation, I
was given N8, 000. The second one, I was given N15, 000.00. This is my third
operation with the gang. Zubby, is the one that collects and sells all the
belongings we collect during operations. He is the one who share the booty to
everyone", he added.
Ese also stated that he lives in Takwa Bay, Snake Island. Before every
robbery operation, we converged at Berger. Most of our victims mistake us for
passengers. When I asked Zubby where he got the guns, he told me that he bought
them. Zubby is an Igbo while Emmanuel is from Calabar.
He claimed that he knew members of the gang since he came to Lagos as a
car washer but didn’t know they were armed robbers then.
They invited me to the operation whenever they wish. Sometimes, I can be
in Berger for two days without seeing them, he added.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth
Ofor confirmed the arrest of the suspect and also confirmed that the suspect
will be charged to court while investigation is ongoing. He also advised the
public to be wary of this yuletide period.
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