By ALBERT AKPOR

The suspects — Chukwudi and Ifeanyi

EXCEPT the law says otherwise, Chukwudi Ekedi an whose wife is expecting a baby his friend Ifeanyi Nwaeze both aged 30 and 25 years; who hail from Anambra and Enugu state respectively may spend the rest of their lives behind bars over alleged armed robbery. Though both are from the east of the niger, they never knew each other until they were joined by fate in Lagos where they had come to seek greener pastures. While in Lagos, both secured the motor boy’s job. Whereas Ekedi, a school certificate holder from Christ the King College , Onitsha started conducting for a truck; having been duped of large sums of money as a spare parts seller in Mpko market sometimes in 1998, Ifeanyi was conducting for a commercial bus driver. Again, both had no accommodation of their own and so always passed the night at the park. However, a twist was introduced into their fate after they met one Ikechukwu (alias IK), who introduced them to armed robbery.

Though they confessed that they had always succeeded in all their operations, their success story was recently punctured after they raided the shop of one Osita Ezeani on 23 road, by 321 junction Festac Town where they carted away unspecified amount of money, other valuables including GSM handsets. It was one of the the GSM handset that later leaked the notorious gang’s activities to the police. It was gathered that one of the armed robbers who picked the Black Berry handset belonging to the owner of the raided shop had gone to MTN office in Festac to get a welcome pack for his new handset while the woman in question was also at the GSM operator’s office to block her line that same moment when she eventually sighted a man holding her handset. She secretly went to the girls at the counter and reported the matter to them. To be sure of her claims, her line was dialled and the phone rang but the man holding the handset was visibly sighted attempting to stop the call. Convinced that the man may actually be one of those who robbed her, they promptly alerted the police who arrived and arrested the man who could not give authentic answers to their questions.

Arrest and confession

Narrating how they were rounded up by detectives attached to anti- robbery section of Festac Division, Ifeanyi Nwaeze who claimed to have lost his mother when he was 3 months old said, “ I came to Lagos to look for a job after graduated from secondary school in Onitsha. Eventually, I got a bus conducting job and I was doing it to the best of my knowledge. I had hoped to get a white collar job someday; and so I was saving the money I was being paid to get a one room apartment. In the process, I met Chukwudi who later introduced me to IK. Honestly, I did not know that IK was an armed robber.

One night I was asleep and my handset was stolen in the vehicle where I slept, because we normally sleep at the park. When I complained to IK he laughed and said I could get a better handset if I wished; so I became curious. The following day, he brought a double barrel short gun and said with this we could make several money in a very short time. That was how I bought the idea of going into robbery. We were going for operation and succeeding and with money, I took part of it and registered with one employment consulting firm. I think I paid N5,000. In one of the operations we went along 321 junction, Chukwudi and IK has earlier gone to survey the area and even entered the shop and bough some biscuits. Later they came to tell me that the coast was clear and that I can now come in with the gun. To be frank there was no cartridge inside the gun. but I was shocked that immediately I entered, and pointed it at the man I met inside the shop, he just pointed directly at the bag containing money and I went straight for it while IK and Chukwudi collected their handsets.

Items recovered.

Inside the bag, I saw a Blackberry phone and I took that also to replace mine that was earlier stolen. Two days after, I went to MTN office in Festac to get a welcome pack. There, I did not actually know what was going on but all I can say is that I was being delayed. Suddenly two men came to me to ask who was the owner of the handset I was holding. But before then, I noticed that a lady was busy staring at me and I started wondering what she could be looking for. So when they confronted me I simply told them that I bought it from a friend. I did not know that they were policemen. Then I took them to Chukwudi that it was from him that I got it. But I was shocked when he owned up to the police that the said handset was stolen during a robbery operation. That was how we were both arrested. But the whereabout of IK, the owner of the gun we used who also sold the idea of robbery to us is still unknown. The police say they are still they are still looking for him.”

On his part, Chukwudi Ekedi, who claimed that his wife would soon put to bed said robbery was last thing on his mind when he came to Lagos a year ago until he met IK. “In 1998, I was duped of N300,000.00 at Upper-Iweka by some fraud stars. The money was part of my savings while selling spear parts at Ngbuka-Mpko. So I decided to come down to Lagos to start life afresh because my wife was expecting a baby. Eventually I got a conducting job with a truck and life was going on gradually. Any time I make money, I send some back home to my wife. I did not intend to spend my life living in Lagos because I don’t like the city; so I was not interested in getting an accommodation.

One day, IK came to our park and sold the idea of robbery to me. Initially, I was shocked but with strong conviction, I gave in and that was how we started going for robbery operations. To be sincere, I have never held a gun in my life, but what I normally do is to go to wherever we want to attack and survey it; then I will go back and brief my members. That day in Festac, I and IK went for the surveillance before we struck and it was successful. But it was the Black Berry handset which Ifeanyi took that landed us in this trouble. Because I do not know how to lie that was why I confessed to the police the truth and nothing but the truth.”

Police speak

But the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Festac Division, Mr, Usman Ndanbabo told Crime Alert that the gang had for some time now constituted a thorn in his flesh, giving him and his men sleepless nights. “This people are very notorious to say the least. Do you know that they are many?, we are still looking for the kingpin named IK. They have confessed that it is this same IK who is on the run now that keeps their arms and ammunition. From the reports we got, this particular gang have been terrorising Festac residents and before we will respond to distress, they would have escaped. But I told myself that one day, they shall meet their doomsday. It is the Blackberry handset that they stole from a supermarket that has now given them to us,” he said.