Policeman poses as politician, foils N50m bank robbery

*Two brothers among suspects as police hunt female armourer

Detectives attached to the Zonal Intervention Squad (ZIS), Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos State has foiled N50million bank robbery after one of them went undercover as a politician.

Suspects arrested in connection with the foiled bank robbery have been identified as Taofeek Ganiu, Sunday Adegbite, Sunday Ademuyiwa, Rufus Olasunkanmi, Alabi Kazeem, Alabi Tunde and Samuel Morakinyo. A female member is said to be at large, the lady, identified as Ganiyat, is believed to be person that keeps guns for the suspects.

According to the Zone 2, Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Babmus, three suspects among the lot were first arrested, while heading to the Micro-Finance to carry out the operation. The three were later used as bait to catch other members of the gang.

Badmus alleged that the gang used to operate as two different gangs, but are actually one gang. While one operates in Ile-Ife, Osun State, the other operates in Ogun State.

Items recovered from them are AK 47 rifle, a double barrel gun and ammunition.

Badmus said: “They were arrested on the day they planned to carry out the bank robbery. They confessed to have another gang operating at Alagbando area of Ogun State, while they operated at Ile-Ife. One of our men, posed as honourable in Ogun State, infiltrated the gang and foiled the bank robbery. Two of our policemen infiltrated the gang with one posing as Honourable, the other as PA to the honourable. The Honourable said that he needed a gun to protect himself for the forthcoming election; the gang members agreed to provide it.”

Adegbite said: “We were five people that went for the micro-finance bank robbery. We were arrested on our way to rob a micro-finance bank. It was Taofeek that brought information about the robbery to us. He told us that we would be able to snatch N50million from the bank. It was supposed to happen as the bank officials were driving into the bank with the money.”

Adegbite disclosed that he had once been arrested for car snatching and imprisonment. He just returned from prison and went to attempt this foiled bank robbery.

He said: “It’s not up to two months that I came back from prison. I attempted to steal a car from where it was parked at Ibadan.  We were four that went for that car snatching operation, but I was the only person arrested, others escaped. People shouted thieves, we started running and they pursued us.”

Narrating his own side of the story, Ganiu said: “It was a guy called Muri that brought the information about the robbery.  He contacted me and I contacted others. Muri was introduced to me by a friend. The robbery was supposed to take place on June 24, but police arrested us that day. We didn’t know that Muri was police spy. He told us that there is a lot of money at the microfinance bank. He said we should go and collect it.”

According to Ganiu, he had earlier been imprisoned for stealing a car. He explained that first sojourn into prison occurred after he moved a Highlander Jeep from where it was parked. He was arrested while attempting to sell it.

He said: “I spent three years in prison. I joined to rob the bank because I needed money. I was a lotto agent before I went to prison. We went for the bank robbery with two guns. The owner of the gun is Taiye, he is dead. I don’t know where he got the guns from. We collected the guns from Taiye’s wife, Ganiyat. It’s Adegbite that knows Ganiyat and her late husband.”

Adegbite takes over the narration: “Yes, I know Ganiyat through her husband Taiye. It’s only the AK47 rifle that belongs to Taiye. When he died, Ganiyat hid it. After I returned from prison, she gave it to me. I didn’t tell her I wanted to use for bank robbery. I told her to sell it to me. We agreed N300, 000. The idea was to pay her after the robbery. But it didn’t work out.”