Bid To Rob Girl Of N.7m Foiled

Men of State Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, in Ikeja, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, have arrested some armed robbers, who attempted to snatch N700,000 from a lady at Pen Cinema area of Agege.

P.M.NEWS learnt from police sources that for about a year, one of the suspects, a 24-year-old indigene of Imo State, has been wooing a girl named Jennifer without success.

The suspect, who resides at Ile Epo area of Abule Egba is alleged to be the Lagos coordinator of a notorious inter-state robbery gang with base in Bayelsa State.

Our source said that when all attempts by the suspect to make Jennifer, who sells items at Agege market failed, he reportedly planned to rob the girl.

He confessed to P.M.NEWS that “for sometime now, I have always noticed that the lady goes to the Agege branch of Zenith Bank at least two times daily to save money.

“So, I confided in my friend, to recruit boys to rob the lady as a way of punishing her for refusing my love advances.”

The friend, a resident of Ajangbadi, he said, recruited another man, a 26-year-old indigene of Orlu, Imo State and they met at the Agege residence of their kinsman, a night before the day of the operation, and were lavishly entertained with food and beer.

The friend confessed to our reporter at SARS that he was the person that attempted to snatch a bag containing N700,000 that Jennifer was taking to bank on that fateful day but that he was overpowered around Pen Cinema by some boys who wanted to lynch him but that he was rescued by policemen from Pen Cinema Police Station. One of the suspects was not so lucky as he was killed by the boys.

The suspects lamented that they were pushed by poverty and the devil into criminal activities, saying that they have successfully carried out three robberies in which they made fortunes.

—Ayodedji Dedeigbo