Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Okada Ban Led Us Into Robbery – Suspect





“I was an  Okada rider and have been doing the job since I came to Lagos. But  things became difficult for me following the restriction of motorcycles by the Lagos State government.
At a point, my motorbike was seized by policemen and  I could no longer  fend for myself, let alone to  take care  of  my aged parents and siblings back home. Out of frustration, I formed a  robbery gang which members were okada riders, in order to make ends meet”.
These were the exact words of a suspected  leader  of a six-man- robbery gang who specialized in snatching vehicles from their owners at gun point and selling same at give away prices.
The suspect, Edechukwu Ebuka  along side five other members of his gang,  were arrested by operatives at the Special Anti Robbery Squad, Ikeja.
The gang as gathered, specialized in snatching only Toyota and Honda cars around Ikotun, Isheri Oshun, Igando, Egbeda and Ejigbo areas of the state.
Police sources hinted that they were arrested after under cover policemen contacted them to get them a car.

We contacted them, pretending to be interested buyers. They told us not to worry that they would contact us when they had one. Few weeks  later,they called to say  they had an unregistered Toyota Camry for sale  and we told them to bring it to Ajao Estate, from where they were arrested.
In an interview with Crime Alert, suspected leader of the gang,  Ebuka who was discovered to have been  to prison over similar case, revealed that “ while in prison,  I met Obinna who introduced me to one Ifeanyi.
While there, I formed the gang. Ifeanyi assured he would get ready buyers for any stolen Toyota and Honda cars. We sold the cars between N250,000 - N300,000.”
“Members of the gang are all okada riders. When things became difficult, I told one of my friends, Okeke that we had to do something about our condition and he accepted. He met his friend one Alhaji, also  an Okada rider who is now in South Africa,who provided us  with a locally made gun.
“We have  so far had five  successful trips before we were arrested. After snatching any car,  we would give it to Ifeanyi to sell for us, at the end  of which we got N50,000 each. However we got less if  the car had its plate numbers engraved on it”, he said.
The suspects as gathered would be charged to court soon.

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