Posted by By Christopher Oji on
After seven years in prison custody awaiting trial for an armed robbery incident, a graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University was let off the hook via a presidential pardon.
After seven years in prison custody awaiting trial for an armed robbery incident, a graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University was let off the hook via a presidential pardon.
But Johnson Olanrewaju didn't know what to do with himself but to go back to robbery. And now he has found his way back to jail. He told Daily Sun how he, with the gang he met in prison stormed the NBN Bank, Akure branch, carting away N25.9 million.
Olanrewaju said that he was on his own when one Pastor Akeem, who he met in the prison approached him and solicited his assistance to get fast money to open a church.
He said: "I met Pastor Akeem in Kirikiri while awaiting trial for a robbery offence. I was lucky to get a reprieve when President Obasanjo granted me State pardon. After the pardon, we both went our separate ways but we still kept in touch. One day, Pastor Akeem told me that he needed money to get out of the rot he found himself and go into full-time service as a pastor in his own church.
I told him that since he had repented and became a preacher in the prison, why not continue with God's work and he told me that he still needed some money to do that as he would need to have his own church to minister to people. Akeem told me that things were not rosy for him since he came out of prison. I saw reason with him too because, I was roasting in poverty too. Since I came out from prison where I was on awaiting trial for an armed robbery case for seven years, I did not have a job so I know how it is."
Thereafter, Hakeem and Olanrewaju devised a means to rob a bank, which Olanrewaju said:"I know him (Akeem) and Pastor Matthew for their powerful preaching and miracles, so I did not bother myself to think deeply about the proposal before I jumped on the wagon."
According to him, they stormed the Union Bank, Akure branch but when one of the security guards escaped, Akeem who led the operation said: "We should leave as fast as possible for fear of bombardment." And that was how they abandoned the Akure operation and ran for cover.
He said that few days later Akeem and Matthew brought up the idea of robbing the NBM Bank, which they assured him would be successful as they have perfected plans to hold the security guards hostage to prevent the re-occurrence of the Union Bank's lapse.
Olanrewaju said:"We picked the day that Nigeria was playing Argentina and we stormed the bank with a welder and his working tools. When we got to the bank, God answered our prayers, as the place was virtually unsecured. The two mobile policemen attached to the bank were busy watching the football match.
We discovered that only one private security guard was on duty and he was dozing. Akeem said we should wait a bit for the guard to be fully asleep. So, we waited until about 2 a.m. and we stormed the place, held him tight. And it did not take us much time to achieve our aim and collect the money."
He said: "We shared the money and I got N4 million. I don't know how much the others got. I was happy because for a very long time, I had not touched cool money so I was really crazy for money. I needed cool cash so badly."
Asked how he spent his share, he disclosed that he spent it on ladies and just to get back his lost glory".
Asked how he felt being paraded, he said: "I don't feel anyhow because I enjoyed my loot very well. I am resigned to fate. I am not afraid of prison after all I had been there for seven years asked. I know that if I was not arrested now, one day will be it for me because in this business, you cannot be lucky all the time. One day, the bird will certainly come home to roost. The only regret I have is that if there had been lawful and decent jobs available to poor people, maybe one would not have been tempted to go into crime. Unless, job is available to people, the poor and the hungry will always hook unto robbery to survive. Tell them like that."