•‘Rich man’s wife, our informant’ •‘We made N200m after robbing a politician
Hajia’s husband was said to be very rich and influential.
He fraternised with those in the corridors of power. It was through her marriage that Hajia got to know many politicians. After her divorce, she teamed up with a gang of armed robbers and started giving information on some of these politicians who were her ex-husband’s friends and associates.
The police said: “The gang used to terrorise the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Kogi and Kano States. The gang’s major informant is Hajia. Hajia used to scout for victims, send information to the robbers before they would strike.
The gang had links to the dreaded Kogi State criminal lord and political thug, Zakari Yua Isiaka, who was arrested recently by operatives of IRT on the Okene-Akure Expressway.”
The suspects currently in IRT custody are Isah Mohammed, Hajia Rekia Musa, Ismaila Abdulmumuni, Abu-Amidu Disu, Tenimu Musa, Boniface David, Aliu Isah and Danjuma Cyprian.
“The suspects confessed during interrogations to have carried out several robbery operations. They also carried out one in April 2015 in Abuja, where over N200 million was stolen from a politician.”
It was gathered that the gang met its waterloo after a policeman, on stop and search duty, flagged down one of the suspects, unaware he was a robber and allegedly stole one of the robber’s phone.
Incidentally, the robber also stole the phone from a victim. During investigation, the phone was traced to the policeman at the checkpoint. Within weeks after the recovery of the phone, IRT started picking up the gang members.
Although Hajia had given the gang a lot of authentic information, leading to successful operations and sharing formula, the gang, however, felt she messed up big time when she gave information about a rich man’s house.
She told the gang that the security at the house was slack. The gang prepared and went to the place only to discover the compound was filled with policemen.
Further investigations revealed that it was the residence of a former IGP.Disu, 29, said: “I instructed Tenimu to contact Babano, who knew where I keep my rifles and pistols. I told them to bring the guns to Abuja.
I also invited one of my friends, Isah Mohammed, whom I met during the Kogi State Governorship elections. We both worked for the APC. Six of us, including Hajia, proceeded to Kano.
“We went with my car and Babano’s cab. When we got to the house, we discovered Hajia didn’t know anything about that house. She has never been there before. She told me that the security around the house would be loose.
When we got there, policemen were everywhere. When I made further enquiries about the house, I was told that the house belongs to a retired IGP.
I told Hajia that I couldn’t attack the house. She insisted, but I angrily left her. I returned to Abuja. A few weeks later, police arrested me.” Narrating how she became a member of the gang, Hajia said she was tricked into becoming an informant.
She recounted: “I became an informant to robbers four months ago. My friend, Isah, said he knew some politicians who stole and hid government’s money in their homes.
He asked if I could help him get a charm known as ‘Etubi.’ The charm was to enable him to become invisible, go into a politician’s house, steal money and leave. Isah promised to reward me. I travelled to my village in Kogi State and met a boy call Tenimu. He told me he could get the charm.
But before I knew what was happening, Tenimu gave out the information to his friends who were armed robbers. “They lured me into taking them to a house in Kano State. When we got there, they saw heavy presence of policemen.
They changed their mind and went away. I got upset because I needed money. A few days later, Isah got information that an Immigration Officer, based in Lagos, had stolen government money. I contacted my gang and we went to the man’s house and robbed him.”
Isah Mohammed, 25, claimed to have gone on just one operation with the gang before he was nabbed. He also confessed that his role was providing information. Mohammed, a fashion designer, was arrested inside his shop. According to him, friends led him into armed robbery.
He said his friend, Ismaila, a security guard in a ministry at Abuja, told him that so many politicians working there, used to go home with huge sums of money. He said:
“There was this guy, Ismalia, whom I used to make clothes for, he told me that some politicians used to bring money to offices at the Mabuchi area of Abuja.
He said the politicians used to share the money in a plaza there. He said he could rob the money from the Politicians. When he told me this; I told him that I knew an Igala guy who makes clothes in my shop that he used to tie charms around his waist.
The guy’s name is Dan. I told Ismalia that I would talk to Dan.” Dan asked Mohammed to invite Ismaila. They met and discussed inside a dark green Honda Accord car. Mohammed noted that after a while, Dan realised that the gang needed guns, rather than just charms to rob.
Mohammed recalled: “On the day the politicians came to share their money, Ismaila called and told me that our target was there. I told Dan. He robbed the politician.
He stole N200m from the politician, but I didn’t know. After the operation, Dan gave me N4.5million to share with Ismaila. I later discovered that the money was N200m. Only Dan got N25million. I felt cheated.
I called Dan and complained.” Due to his complaint, Dan took him to Zakari, described as a powerful man from Kogi State, residing in Abuja. Mohammed told Zakari that he was the informant that brought the job and deserved more money. Zakari told him to be patient. Mohammed said: “Zakari also told me that he was a political thug, working with Abubaka Audu.
He said Audu promised to settle him with a lucrative contract if he won. He then asked me to join him in Kogi State. I went with him, but on our way to his house, he was attacked. I sustained bullet wounds.
I went back to Abuja to treat myself. When I became well, Dan introduced me to one of Zakari’s boys called Bonni. They said Bonni split from Zakari and formed his own gang. I gave him information about a filling station in my area.
The filling station was robbed and I was given N100, 000 as my share. Last month, one of my friends, Hamid, whom I knew through Zakari called me.
He said there was a woman called Hajia whose husband ran away with her two children. He said the woman has information of a house in Kano State where they keep a lot of foreign currencies.
I asked Hajia to come to Abuja. She came with three people. I lodged them in a hotel. In the evening, Hajia, Hamid and I had a meeting at the hotel.
We asked Hajia if she was sure that there was money in that house, she said yes. She assured us that the occupants of the house were politicians. She said they stole money from government.
The next day, we went to Kano. We saw the house. It was obvious we couldn’t do the job because of the presence of policemen.” He said that after that abortive robbery, Hajia started calling him, asking for money. She soon brought information. This time, the targeted house is located at Mike Yahman Street Maraba, Abuja.
It’s owned by a man who works for government. She said the man had stolen government money. Mohammed explained: “Five of us went for that operation.
When we got to the house, we told the security man we wanted to rent an apartment. He allowed us into the compound. The man we met in the house said he didn’t have any money.
He gave us N40, 000. We took two gold wrist watches, gold chain and his rings.” A few days after the operation, two of their members, Papa and Nicholas, went to Kaduna to buy a car.
They were driving back with the car when they ran into a police check point. One of the policemen stole the phone Nicholas had. He didn’t know the phone was a stolen one. The phone was tracked and the policeman was arrested.
He later led other policemen to track and arrest Nicholas. Nicholas led policemen to arrest Mohammed and other gang members. Still stating his own side of the story, Disu, 29, said he was working in car wash company before he went into crime. Disu graduated from the Kogi State University and studied Political Science.
He said that after his graduation in 2014, he hunted for jobs to no avail. He decided to use some of the money he had saved during his Youth Service to buy a Toyota Camry car, which he used as a cab.
In September, one of his friends, Tenimu Musa, told him about a certain Hajia. Disu said: “Musa told me that Hajia was married to a very rich man and that her husband had connections with some ex-governors.
He said that since the Treasury Single Account (TSA) started, governors handed their money over to her husband. She wanted a charm that could make her go into the house undetected to steal money.
I went to Lokoja to meet Musa and Hajia. I told Musa that I knew he didn’t have the power to appear or disappear. I told him that if truly there was money in the house, it was better for us to go with guns.”
Revealing the benefits of becoming a robber, the security guard, Ismaila Abdulmumuni, said: “Mohammed told me that the robbers gave us N4.5m. We shared it equally. I used my share to enrol myself in school.
I paid my admission and tuition fees. I also used part of it to provide treatment for my sick father before he died. I paid my house rent and also furnished my house. I didn’t know that one day I would be arrested over this case.
It was Mohammed that pressured me into doing it. If I had not told him about my condition, there was no way he would have exploited it and dragged me into crime.”
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