The suspect,
Eziaha Joshua, from Ukwa West Local Government Area, confessed that he and his
gang members attacked and robbed the filling station located at Obehie in Ukwa
West Local Government Area, carting away N86,000, which was realised from the
day’s sales.
Joshua, who
introduced himself as the gang leader, said that he got N35,000 as his share of
the loot.
He explained that the motorcyclist, who took them to the scene of the
crime, smiled home with N18,000.
He noted that
the third suspect, who is still on the run, got N27,000.
Narrating how
he and his gang members carried out the robbery operation, Joshua explained
that his friend, Onyempa, sold the idea of robbing the filling station to him
and he bought it.
He said:
“Onyempa told me that he had a short gun and a knife, which he and others
used in disarming people going to their offices in the morning before robbing
them of their valuables. Onyempa asked me to arrange for a motorcyclist, who
would take us to the filling station. I contacted a commercial motorcyclist,
who I had known for long. I told the cyclist about the operation and he agreed
to join. I then rehearsed the operation with him.”
On the fateful
day of the operation, the gang got to the filling station about 7.30
p.m. This was the time given to them to arrive at the scene by Onyempa.
Onyempa also
told them that he wouldn’t join them at the filling station because the manager
and some of the attendants knew him.
The plan was
for Onyempa to wait at the point where the motorbike was parked among flower
hedge until after the operation.
It was a
successful operation. The gang robbed the filling station and disappeared into
the darkness.
However, luck
ran out on them when the manager reported the matter to the police. The manager
also remembered the type of perfume one of the armed robbers sprayed on the day
the gang stormed the filling station.
It was
the perfume that exposed Joshua and led to his eventual arrest.
A police source
said: “The suspect lives in that community. He also used to work as a tiller in
that community. The perfume was not a common one. One day, the suspect and the
manager walked past each other. The manager smelt the perfume fragrance on
Joshua and started suspecting him. He reported to the police. The rest, as they
used to say, is history. We followed up on the manager’s complaint and
observation. We picked Joshua, during interrogation, he confessed.”
While in police
custody, Joshua told the police that the filling station robbery was not his
first operation.
He said: “I
regret my action. I promise to repent and enrol in a Bible school and become a
pastor if I’m pardoned. Before I started robbing, I was a tiller. I also play
music at events.”
The cyclist,
who gave his name as Chibuike, said he was a software engineer, but got
involved in robbery because it sounded attractive. He, however, confessed that
he actually did the operation, but added that it was a mistake.
The state
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Leye Oyebade, said that the gang was arrested on
June 13, following a tip-off. The police boss said that the gang robbed the
filling station on May 19.
He said: “They
were arrested by operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS)
attached to Obehie Police Station. This was as a result of the follow up to the
arrest of Joshua and a member of the three-man gang. The two suspects, who are
members of a three-man gang, confessed to have robbed Ezeudu Chinasa of Benvick
Filling Station, of her Intel phone valued N180,000, a wristwatch and a bag
containing a Holy Bible.”
Oyebade added
that the gang members were armed with a locally-made pistol, kitchen knife and
rode on a motorcycle. He said the Intel phone had been recovered, while
policemen are already on the trail of the third suspect.
Oyebade urged
members of the public to assist police with information, in order to reduce
crime in the state. This was even as he promised Nigerians who assist police
with information of absolute confidentiality.
According to
Oyebade, in keeping with the avowed commitment to a crime-free state, the
police in the state was collaborating with banks and private school
proprietors.
The
commissioner observed that with the recent arrest of suspected kidnap kingpin,
Chukwumeme Onwuamadike aka Evans, kidnapping would no longer be attractive. He
noted that the command would follow the recent achievement of the police, with
proactive policing in Abia State.
He added: “We
will continue to do our best and with the collaboration of sister security
agencies in the state. We will intensify land patrol and air/helicopter surveillance.”
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