Posted by By Juliana Francis on
A mobile policeman, who was dismissed for illegal duty, has shown that a leopard cannot change its skin, as he continued a life of crime.
A mobile policeman, who was dismissed for illegal duty, has shown that a leopard cannot change its skin, as he continued a life of crime.
Chinedu Osadebe aka MOPOL, and his gang were having a field day using pistol to collect victim's valuables, especially motorbikes at the Egbeda area of Lagos, when they met their waterloo.
Detectives say Osadebe, 28, father of three children was on March 2005, dismissed for using a commercial bus with three other policemen to pick female passengers and collected their possessions.
His crime was soon found out when one of his victims stormed the nearest police station and reported the case, giving a very accurate description of the vehicle and registration number.
Segun Oni, 25, a member of the gang who was arrested on September 24, said it was fate that led to their arrest.
The gang had already robbed a commercial bike rider and was about making away with his bike when it suddenly developed a fault.
He said: "That night before we left Fred's house in Egbeda, Mopol gave me a pistol. He came into Fred's room that day with the gun tucked into the front of his trouser, covered with his shirt. He said he had been hearing the name Segun, for long from Fred. He gave me the gun, saying he wanted to test me. He said they usually go out with one Monday. But since he was not around, they wanted to know how brave I was.
'We left on Fred's motorbike. We rode for a while and stopped at Fred's wife's place along the road. After a while, one Okada passed, carrying Fred. Mopol said I should quickly mount. We followed Fred and the man. They had not gone far when Fred told the man to stop.
'He brought out N100 to give the Okada man. We rode to the front of the man's bike and blocked it. I brought out the pistol to shakara him. He ran away. As Fred made away with the bike, it started having problem and stopped. We pushed it, but it would not start."
They were still trying to figure out what had gone wrong with the bike when they heard the commercial bike rider coming back with an angry crowd. They all bolted. Oni was later found in a corner, cowering away. He was beaten black and blue. The pistol was also recovered.
Detectives later used Oni as bait to catch Osadebe. But Fred disappeared into thin air. Oni, who said he was a barber, denied knowing that Fred and Osadebe were taking him out to rob. Asked where he thought they were taking him after handing him a gun, he kept mute.
Osadebe said he was dismissed for carrying out a lawful duty of arresting a man and woman, who were constituting a public nuisance along Allen Avenue in Ikeja.
He said: "We were coming back from Ojota when we saw the couple. They were making love in the Street. We arrested them. I was dismissed, but my colleagues are still serving in the Nigeria Police. I don't know why I was dismissed and they were left alone."
Osadebe said he enlisted in the police force in 2000 and still stays in the barracks with his wife and children even after being dismissed. He denied being a robber and claimed that the pistol found on Oni belonged to Fred Michael.
According to him, he became friendly with Fred when he was still a policeman. He said: "I always assist Fred whenever touts cease his motorbike. When I lost my job, I went to him to help me. He said there was nothing he could do for me except give me his Okada to be managing from time to time.
'That day he came to my house and told me to assist him carry Segun to Akowonjo area in Egbeda. I didn't know they were going to rob!"
Police spokesman, Olubode Ojajuni said it was the discovery that Osadebe was a dismissed policeman using his uniform to rob that propelled them to act fast. He said they knew Osadebe would be using the uniform to damage the police image. He pointed out that Osadebe and his members would be charged for robbery.