Olaleye Aluko
With leg irons, four suspected members of a robbery gang, which attacked two commercial banks in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, filed out on Monday on the premises of the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja.
The suspects told PUNCH Metro that there were 18 persons involved in the robbery operation, adding that the masterminds were still hiding in creeks in Ikorodu, Lagos, and Warri, Delta State.
The suspects, who were paraded by the immediate past Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Kayode Aderanti, are Bright Agbojule, 35; Monday Omoboye, 39, also known as Alarm blow/Baba Ibeji; Monday Ikuesan, 37; and Promise Abiwa, 20.
The gang had invaded Zenith and First bank branches in the Ipakodo, Ikorodu area on Wednesday, June 24, at about 8.30am, and reportedly carted away about N80m from the Zenith Bank and an undisclosed amount from the First Bank.
The robbers, who blew up the bank rotor doors with explosives, overwhelmed the policemen at the Ipakodo division located opposite the banks.
The gang members later escaped through the Ipakodo, Ikorodu jetty, leaving four persons injured.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro on Monday, Omoboye, who confessed to have driven the speedboat during the bank robberies in Ikorodu, added that he was also the one that drove the speedboat for the gang when they invaded FCMB in the Lekki area of Lagos.
He explained that there were 18 persons that participated in the Ipakodo bank robbery.
He added that the gang leaders and other members were on the run in creeks in Warri, Delta State.
He said, “The gang leaders are known by nicknames, Kakadoo and Million. The two guys are based in Warri, Delta State. Whenever they come to Lagos, they stay in a creek in Abule Ishawo, Ikorodu. They were the ones who provided the guns and the explosives for the robbery.
“On that morning, they called me that there was work, adding that I would be driving the speedboat again from the scene of the operation. I was the one who drove the gang during the Lekki and Ijede robberies.
“We were 18 in number on that day. They brought the others with them from Warri. They drove vehicles on that morning, while I drove the speedboat and waited for them by the waterside. There was no woman among us as some people claimed.
“After the incident, we first escaped to a creek in the Ajegunle, Irawo area. That was where we stayed to share the money. They did not let me know the whole amount. I was given N2.8m.
“Three days ago, we still communicated with them, and they said they were inside some creeks in the Warri and Ikorodu areas. They did not know that we have been arrested. My own area is Abule Ishawo, Ikorodu. I am a speedboat driver and the gang relied on my expertise to get them away on waterways.
“I got a Lexus 300 for N1.15m from the money I got for the operation. It was four days after the robbery that I bought the vehicle.”
Agbojule, from Ese Odo, Ondo State, also named Kakadoo and Million as the gang leaders. He said he was stationed outside the banks and told to shoot to scare policemen and passersby away.
He said, “I am just a gang member. I am a student of a college of education in Benin, Edo State. Million andKakadoo invited me a few days to the incident to participate in the operation.
“They told me that we would be robbing two banks in the Ipakodo area. We were 18, and there was no woman. I was one of those outside, standing by the roadside and shooting to scare people away.
“The others are known only by nicknames. They are Kelvin, SK, Vicar, and others. I was the last to enter the speedboat. I was to secure the rear with gunshots and ensure we were not being followed.
“I am a married man. I have two children, and my family stays in the Isolo area of Lagos. I was given N2m from the operation. I also bought a jeep, which has been impounded by the police.”
A police source clarified to our correspondent that it was one of the gang leaders who dressed like a woman on the day of the operation for a reason yet unknown.
The police said the suspects also confessed to the bank robbery involving Wema and First banks in the Ijede, Ikorodu area on Wednesday, June 1.
The vehicles recovered from the gang are Lexus RX 300 with registration number, KRD 29 DA; Infiniti jeep with registration number, EKY 641 DB; and another Lexus with registration number, 642 DQ.
The CP, Aderanti, said further efforts would be made by the incoming administration to apprehend other members of the gang as investigations continued.
Aderanti added that the people and government of Lagos State had made his stay worthwhile, saying the new CP would sustain the momentum.
He said, “The Ikorodu bank robberies remain painful in my heart. I am, however, glad that we have arrested four of the gang members. We have also recovered some vehicles bought with the proceeds of the crime. Further efforts are being made to arrest other gang members as investigations continue.
“The new CP, Fatai Owoseni, is a man who will sustain the momentum. We have once worked together, and he is a capable hand. I enjoin the people of Lagos to work with him as he continues to ensure that there is no hiding place for criminals in Lagos.”
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