28th March, 2012
A suspected robber, Ebere Njoku, 31, has reportedly confessed that he belongs to a gang of five robbers who robbed car owners hooked up in traffic gridlock around Sunrise bus stop, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.
According to a police source, some kind Nigerians reported at the Apapa Police Station that a robbery incident was ongoing at Kasuwa Market, Boundary, Ajegunle. Men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, swung into action. They arrived at the scene and arrested Ebere Njoku while his accomplices escaped.
In his confessional statement, Njoku, who hails from Abia State, Southeast Nigeria, said he and other members of his gang usually targeted car owners who were hooked up in the traffic gridlock at Sunrise bus stop.
He said they were using a particular hard object on their mirror to give them the wrong impression that they hit it with a gun.
The victims were therefore terrified to surrender all their valuables like telephone sets, wrist watches, cash and jewelleries in their possession.
Njoku said he joined the gang in December last year and had followed the them to rob people in six operations, adding that the least he collected was N3,000 while the highest money he shared was N9,000.
He recollected that the total sum of N26,000 had accrued to him since he joined the gang.
In addition to cash, Njoku claimed he got two blackberry phones and one Nokia phone during the operations he attended.
However, the suspect told the police that he regretted his involvement in crime and pledged to go back to his barbing salon if he could be let off the hook.
—Ayodeji Dedeigbo