Posted by By MATTHEW DIKE on
A young man in Lagos, Akinyemi Akintolu, 28, who had concluded plans to travel to Napoli, Spain, has been arrested for armed robbery.
A young man in Lagos, Akinyemi Akintolu, 28, who had concluded plans to travel to Napoli, Spain, has been arrested for armed robbery.
Akintolu, who was among the five robbery suspects paraded recently at the police command's headquarters, Ikeja, Lagos, was to travel on April 18, but was nabbed after he was implicated by one of his gang members, Kingsley Jeremiah, during interrogation by the police.
The suspect disclosed that his travel documents, including flight ticket, were ready for the aborted trip. Though, policemen recovered two guns when they carried out search in his room, Akintolu, who confessed being an armed robber, argued that he was not caught in the act.
He said he was only implicated because of his roles in the robbery operations they carried out last year.
Daily Sun gathered that after Akintolu was implicated, the police nabbed his brother when they could not see him. The brother's arrest led to his arrest.
The suspect, who had lost one of his eyeballs, claimed he didn't know those paraded with him by the police but one of the robbers said he was only being economical with the truth.
"This bastard (pointing at Jeremiah) implicated me. This man is just a devil. He is the one that brought police to my house," he fumed.
On how he lost one of his eyes, Akintolu said it was caused by a road accident. He said: "Please, I don't want to die. The government should spare my life. I won't rob again, I know I have taken part in many robbery operations before,"
But Jeremiah insisted that Akintolu was among the robbers who sold handsets to him. He said he preferred to sell stolen handsets, as the business was more lucrative than his profession. One of his customers (robber), David Frank, had called him on phone only for him to be arrested.
Hear him: "Anytime they called me on phone, I knew they had handsets to sell to me. At times, I paid cash and some times, I paid after selling the handsets. But I never followed them for robbery operations." His claim was punctured by Frank, who alleged that he followed them on two occasions to snatch people's handsets.
Frank gave names of other members of the gang as Aminu and Julius, who he said is a soldier.
He said the police arrested him in a hotel in the Okokomaiko area of Lagos. "So, they did not arrest me at the scene of robbery," Frank said.
Another suspect, Anuoluwapo Ogunbiyi, 20, from Badagry, Lagos, claimed to be a footballer, playing for a Benin Republic Football Club, De Lion Football Club.
The suspect, who wept profusely and maintained his innocence, explained that he was arrested after the police saw his phone number on Akintolu's handset and used it to trick him.
He described Ogunbiyi as one of his fans, who loved to watch him thrill his numerous fans with his skills and promised to buy a pair of boot for him.
He said: "I was answering the phone call before I was shot in one of my legs. I told the police that I was not an armed robber. He (Akintolu) only liked to watch me play football. Police shot me in the leg."
Police, however, said the suspect was shot when he attempted to escape.
Another suspect, Prince Eboma, whose role was to ride the motorcycle used for robbery operation, admitted carrying Akintolu to a robbery scene at Agbara, Ogun State, twice.
Eboma, who was nabbed at Agbara, Ogun State, apologized to his parents to and asked for forgiveness. He blamed the devil for his actions.
He said: "I want my parents to forgive me. They should be praying for me. I didn't kill anybody. It is just the work of the devil."