If not for the wicked woman we robbed,I won't be in this mess- Suspect

Robbery suspect, Mustapha, aged 20, said yesterday that his gang met their  waterloo when a woman was attacked.Mustapha said the victim caused the death of their gang leader.

The suspect, a native of Lantoro in Ogun State, said,

 “since the day we robbed a woman, a recharge card seller, our gang had not known peace. It was  as if we murdered sleep.  It was  at  Bamiji Lawal Street,  Bariga, Lagos. We  robbed her of her jewelry and N50,000. It was around 8:30pm in  front of her house. We threatened her with a cutlass and  she gave  us her bag.  We were with a gun, but we did not intimidate her with it because she  co-operated.

“Why I curse this woman was that immediately we robbed her, she raised the alarm and people called policemen who stormed the place. We ran, but the security agents were faster as they shot dead our gang leader, Suleiman, but three other gang members escaped.


“ My brother, it was a bitter experience and that was why I resolved not to go back to robbery. I nearly lost my life during the encounter with the police.  I went to my grand-mother’s house to decide on what to do next.

“The first outing I did, I still met the  same woman we robbed, she recognised me. She raised the alarm and I was arrested by some boys, who handed me over to the police. That woman is the cause of my woes. I regret ever participating in robbing her. It is a big lesson to me that it is not everybody you see that you can hurt.

“We had been successful in our outings in Bariga before we robbed that wicked woman that put me in this mess. We had narrowed down our operations to Bariga area. I participated in six robberies.  The  first was at Odunsi Street, where  we collected phones and  N20,000.   The second was at  Onipe Street. We  got two telephone handsets and N50,000.  The third was at Oyedu Street, Bariga where we collected N80,000, and I got N20,000 share. The  fourth was at Command Street, where we snatched one phone  and  jewelery.”

Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Kenneth Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent, confirmed the arrest.

Sun