The Lagos State Police Command on Friday paraded
two former police sergeants and three others for
various robbery offences.
The ex-police officers identified as Sgt. Ochigbo
Gabriel and Sgt. Francis Onuh were arrested alongside
Emmanuel Audu, James Momoh and Sunday Onuh by
men of the Inspector-General of Police Special
Intelligence Response Team in the state.
The former policemen among the suspects had been
dismissed from the force for different offences.
Audu, 33, said he joined the Nigeria Police in 2003 but
was dismissed as a constable in 2009 over his
involvement in some illegal activities in Warri, Delta
State.
Audu told journalists that shortly after he lost his job,
he relocated to Lagos and became a dispatch rider until
December last year when he was looking for a job and
met Peter Owocho, another member of the gang who
introduced him to the gang.
He said he used his share of their loot to run his family
and pay his children’s school fees.
He said, “I live at Ikorodu with my family. I took part in
all the operations, but I was arrested on June 7, 2016
by the police.”
A source at the police station told Punch that the
suspects specialised in robbing Chinese nationals in
different parts of Lagos State.
The suspects who were apprehended during an
operation at the homes of four Chinese nationals in
Gbagada, had carried out no fewer than 10 robberies
between December 2015 and June 2016.
Accordin to the source “The dismissed policemen
normally gain access into the homes of the Chinese
men under the pretence of conducting routine checks,
or that they had information that they (the Chinese)
were involved in drugs and currency counterfeiting.
“When they are allowed into their homes, the dismissed
policemen would ransack the apartments and cart
away all valuables including cash and electronic
gadgets.”
One of the suspects, 33-year-old Sunday told newsmen
that he had National Diploma in Business
Administration.
He said he lost his job shortly before his marriage, and
met a member of the robbery gang, known as Jack, who
introduced him to their operations.
He said, “He told me he would introduce me to a
business. That was when I learnt that it involved
robbing Chinese expatriates.
“Three of us went for the operation at Omole and we
opened the door with a metal cutter since there was no
one in the house. We stole phones, laptops and cash. I
wouldn’t know how much we got, but I was given
N500,000 cash.
“At the operation in Gbagada, we wore coveralls and
told the expatriates we wanted to repair electricity
cables and they opened their doors for us. We went in
and robbed them of their phones, laptop and money. I
got N45,000 as my share after that operation.”
He confessed further that the locally-made revolver
pistol they used for operations belonged to Jack, and
he was able to buy a car for taxi before he was
arrested, after policemen traced one of the phones they
stole at Gbagada to him.
two former police sergeants and three others for
various robbery offences.
The ex-police officers identified as Sgt. Ochigbo
Gabriel and Sgt. Francis Onuh were arrested alongside
Emmanuel Audu, James Momoh and Sunday Onuh by
men of the Inspector-General of Police Special
Intelligence Response Team in the state.
The former policemen among the suspects had been
dismissed from the force for different offences.
Audu, 33, said he joined the Nigeria Police in 2003 but
was dismissed as a constable in 2009 over his
involvement in some illegal activities in Warri, Delta
State.
Audu told journalists that shortly after he lost his job,
he relocated to Lagos and became a dispatch rider until
December last year when he was looking for a job and
met Peter Owocho, another member of the gang who
introduced him to the gang.
He said he used his share of their loot to run his family
and pay his children’s school fees.
He said, “I live at Ikorodu with my family. I took part in
all the operations, but I was arrested on June 7, 2016
by the police.”
A source at the police station told Punch that the
suspects specialised in robbing Chinese nationals in
different parts of Lagos State.
The suspects who were apprehended during an
operation at the homes of four Chinese nationals in
Gbagada, had carried out no fewer than 10 robberies
between December 2015 and June 2016.
Accordin to the source “The dismissed policemen
normally gain access into the homes of the Chinese
men under the pretence of conducting routine checks,
or that they had information that they (the Chinese)
were involved in drugs and currency counterfeiting.
“When they are allowed into their homes, the dismissed
policemen would ransack the apartments and cart
away all valuables including cash and electronic
gadgets.”
One of the suspects, 33-year-old Sunday told newsmen
that he had National Diploma in Business
Administration.
He said he lost his job shortly before his marriage, and
met a member of the robbery gang, known as Jack, who
introduced him to their operations.
He said, “He told me he would introduce me to a
business. That was when I learnt that it involved
robbing Chinese expatriates.
opened the door with a metal cutter since there was no
one in the house. We stole phones, laptops and cash. I
wouldn’t know how much we got, but I was given
N500,000 cash.
“At the operation in Gbagada, we wore coveralls and
told the expatriates we wanted to repair electricity
cables and they opened their doors for us. We went in
and robbed them of their phones, laptop and money. I
got N45,000 as my share after that operation.”
He confessed further that the locally-made revolver
pistol they used for operations belonged to Jack, and
he was able to buy a car for taxi before he was
arrested, after policemen traced one of the phones they
stole at Gbagada to him.
