A woman and a man that
specialised in robbing unsuspecting passengers who board commercial cab along
Badagry-Mile 2 route has been arrested.
According to Police
sources, the suspects identified as Ahmed Isiaka and Victoria Amodu are part of
five-man robbery gang operating along Seme-Badagry- Mile 2 route.
One of the apprehended
robbers, 27-year-old Victoria, while narrating her story said: “I was arrested
last Wednesday at Dakar Hotel in Seme where I used to work as a prostitute.
“I am from Edo State. I
came to Lagos last February to look for greener pastures when my husband was
constantly beating me. We were married for eight years.
“I abandoned my husband and
three children and came to Lagos with the intention of living under the bridge
until I found a place to lay my head. Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to
sleep under the bridge as I met a lady in a commercial bus I boarded who had
compassion on me when she saw me crying in the bus.
“She took me to the hotel
where she was working as a prostitute and introduced me into the league of
prostitutes.
“Everything was going on
well until Okanlawon patronised me in the hotel. The first time we spent the
night together. After that night I didn’t see him again untill three weeks
later.
“Weeks later, someone stole
my N100,000 from my room in the hotel while I was asleep. While I was still
lamenting the loss, the collector of our Esusu contribution disappeared with my
N150,000.
“As I was still grieving
over the loss, Okanlawon came to the hotel to see me. He told me to accompany
him to a night club. Initially I declined but after much persuasion I followed
him.
“Instead of going to the
club, he took me to his place where we spent the night together. In the
morning, he asked me to enter the front seat of his vehicle and he started
picking passengers and I asked him why he was carrying passengers but he didn’t
respond.
“It was when he and his
gang members attacked the passengers that I knew what he was into. I told him I
didn’t want to take part in their operations. But he threatened to deal with
me, saying nobody would know my whereabouts if I didn’t co-operate with the
gang.
“That was why I had a
rethink and continued to participate in robbery operations. The first time I
participated, I wasn’t given anything while at two other times I was given
N15,000 and N10,000 respectively.”
Trouble for the gang
The trouble started for the
gang after a victim whom they robbed reported the incident at the Ojo Police
Division which began investigating the activities of the gang.
Ironically, the female
police officer investigating the case at the division was also robbed by the
gang when she boarded their vehicle while in mufti.
She was able to get details
of the vehicle during the attack. The cab was later traced to Iyana-Iba the
next day when unsuspecting passengers were already boarding it.
Ahmed was then arrested
while the other members escaped. The case was later transferred to SARS for
further investigation which eventually led to the arrest of Victoria.
Mode of operation
The gang had two
operational styles. First, they could use two operational vehicles.
One of the suspects, Ahmed
would occupy the driver’s seat while Victoria, the only female suspect in the
gang sits in front and another gang member at the back as unsuspecting
passengers board the cab.
The other two members would
sit in the back-up vehicle. Immediately they get to a lonely place along the
road, the gang members in the back-up cab would signal the driver with the
passenger to stop by flashing his phone.
The driver would then
pretend to be fixing his vehicle that would have suddenly become faulty. This
will allow those in the back-up vehicle to launch an attack. That way the
passengers won’t suspect any foul play.
The second mode of
operation is that they use one vehicle with Victoria sitting beside the driver
to pick passengers without the back-up vehicle.
Ahmed’s account
During interrogation,
33-year-old Ahmed Isiaka from Kwara State said: “I was introduced to the gang
by Okanlawon last November. Other members of the gang are Nuru, Victoria and
Isiaka.
“I am the driver of the
operational vehicle, a Honda Accord, while Nuru used to drive the back-up
vehicle, a Mazda.
“We used to operate along
Iyana-Iba-Badagry expressway. Usually, Victoria sits at the front while another
member sits at the back. I take passengers from Iyana-Iba bus stop going to
Badagry. Before we get to a lonely area between Agbara and Oko-Afo the other
members of the gang in the back-up vehicle would signal me to stop.
“Immediately, I receive the
signal, I would pretend like the vehicle was faulty then park and pretended to
be fixing the vehicle. While this was going on, the other members would strike.
“We don’t use guns or juju
to rob passengers, instead we use wheel spanner. We don’t even make them
unconscious during operation. Usually we operate in the night. Sometimes we
operate in broad daylight.
“Depending on our loot, I
could get as much as N10,000 from one operation. And I have participated in
about four robbery operations.
“Okanlawon used to take all
the phones we get from operations. Before I joined the gang I was a commercial
bus driver.
“I am married with a child.
I used to live at Ibafo before my rent expired and I moved to 1, Denton Street
in Oyingbo.
what a life
ReplyDeleteSuch a hard life prostitute turned Robber
ReplyDelete