The
long arm of the law has finally caught up with two men suspected to be
the leaders of the armed gangs that attacked a branch of First Bank in
Ekiti State and the World Oil Petrol Station in Ibafo, Ogun State, a few
months ago.
Ejike Mbogu and Ayomide Oyebanji were said to have been arrested by the police in Lagos after an intensive search.
Also,
eight other suspected robbers, Gbenga Oni, Taofeek Mumuni, Ogbonnaya
Ekweye, Kundus Adetono, Yemi Ayodeji, Shola Ayodele, Gani Moshood and
Seyi Aluko, all of who allegedly had participated in some major robbery
attacks in the South-West, are currently in the custody of the Special
Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja, Lagos.
Another suspected robber, Seun Adegboyega, aka Dada, was shot dead during a raid in Ikotun.
Three
policemen reportedly lost their lives in the robbery in Ekiti, which
occurred sometime in May 2012 and lasted about an hour. An undisclosed
amount of money was said to have been stolen by the robbers during the
attack.
Also,
the robbery at the petrol station in Ibafo claimed the lives of two
policemen. Both of them were shot when a gang of daredevil robbers
invaded the station.
CRIME DIGEST learnt that three other policemen were killed when the same gang of robbers struck in the Oke-Itoku area of Abeokuta.
On Sept. 10, the gang robbed several bureau de change operators
in Agege, Anthony, Ojodu, Itire, Ikeja and Ilasamaja areas of Lagos,
killing three policemen and a commercial bus driver.
The
end came for Mbogu and Ayodeji about three weeks ago when a Honda car
allegedly stolen in Akute, Ogun State, was traced to the former’s aged
mother in Anambra State.
Assisted
by Mbogu’s brother, a team of policemen from SARS in Lagos succeeded in
apprehending the suspected gangster in a hotel in Ikotun. Led by
Superintendent Abba Kyari, the team found Mbogu in company with five
other members of his gang. In the ensuing stampede, three members of the
gang managed to escape.
Mbogu
was arrested, but not before he was shot while trying to disarm one of
the policemen. Dada was killed as he tried to escape.
On
his part, Ayodeji was allegedly responsible for organising most of the
major robberies which occurred in the Ikotun/Igando areas of Lagos state
this year. “Ayodele is my friend; he lives at Ikotun and usually brings
information about thriving businesses in the area. I got to know him
as a building developer when I came in the guise of an Omo oni ile (land
speculator) to a site he was supervising. We robbed a Coca-Cola depot
at Liasu Road; I got N120,000 as my share in that operation. We robbed a
super mart at Igando and a turkey cold room at Liasu road. Most of the
robberies at Liasu Road were carried out by our gang,” Ayodeji
confessed.
On
the other hand, Oyebanji’s gang is believed to be responsible for most
of the robbery attacks that have taken place in Victoria Island, Lekki
and Ajah.
Leading
the attacks himself alongside four other members on the run, Oyebanji
allegedly dispossessed residents of the island of their cars, money and
other valuables. CRIME DIGEST gathered that in one of such incidents, two policemen on guard at a home in VI were killed in a shootout with the robbers.
In
an interview with our correspondent, Mbogu confessed that he was lured
into armed robbery four years after he moved to Lagos.
He
said, “I moved to Lagos after my father’s death and started earning a
living as an apprentice to my brother who sold refrigerator parts in
Mushin. For a while, things were difficult. Then I met one Segun in
Surulere. He claimed to be a soldier. I noticed that he lived on the
fast lane and he was not alone. All the boys who moved with him also
lived on the fast lane. Although I didn’t know it, Segun was an
ex-convict.
“One
day after we got talking, Segun invited me for a drink with his boys.
He asked me if I had been involved in any crime of any sort. When I
answered in the negative, he said I didn’t have the required experience
for the kind of work he did. So, he assigned me to pick pockets
alongside Opeyemi. For some weeks, I would steal wallets and other
valuables during rush hours.
“Segun
monitored my progress regularly. Later, I was allowed to drive them on a
motorcycle whenever they wanted to snatch handbags. Most of our victims
were sales girls going to the bank to deposit or withdraw money.
“Eventually,
Segun relocated to Cotonou with some members of his gang when the
police were on their trail. By then, I had established contacts with
other robbers and one arms supplier known as Tochukwu.”
The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr. Umaru Manko, confirmed the arrests.
“Ever
since his involvement in the Wema Bank robbery at Dopemu in 2008,
Oyebanji has long been on the wanted list of the police. About 15 armed
robbers participated in that robbery attack and 13 of them were
arrested. Oyebanji and one other member of the group had been on the run
since then.
“Oyebanji’s
gang was responsible for the bullion van robbery in Badagry about five
months ago. A police sergeant and three other civilians were killed
during the attack.
“Oyebanji
was arrested last week after he was sighted by a source around
Iyana-Ipaja. A SARS team led by Kyari trailed him to Oshodi. He was shot
while trying to escape arrest while a receiver of stolen goods, Muyiwa,
who was with him at the time, was also arrested,” Manko said.
Oyebanji
was said to have made confessional statements which led to the
discovery of eight AK-47 rifles belonging to the policemen who were
killed in the Ekiti, Badagry and Ibafo robbery attacks.
One
English pump action, and 25 magazines loaded, with 30 rounds of
ammunition, were also found hidden in a Nissan Almera car which was
parked in a mechanic’s workshop at Apapa Road, Oyingbo.
One
pump action an AK-47 rifle, two locally-made double-barrelled shotguns,
two assault rifles and 10 AK-47 magazines (fully loaded), were also
recovered from the gang’s former armoury at Ifo when Aluko led a SARS
team to the hideout. Unfortunately, most of the guns and ammunition had
been taken away to be used in a robbery attack the same day.
Punch Nigeria
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