By Evelyn Usman andVictor Jacob

Michael Joseph (22), like most youths in search of greener pasture, left his country Benin Republic in 2001 for Nigeria.

However, nine years into his stay in Nigeria, he has gotten into trouble, in his bid to make quick money, as he is currently in Police net for alleged robbery attempt.

Michael, as gathered, stormed a telephone outlet at Ayobo garage, in the outskirts of Lagos State, pretending to be a customer.

He reportedly demanded for five different mobile phones which the shop attendant gladly brought out, beaming with smile for making a good sale that day. But that smile was short-lived as, rather than being paid the sum of N37,500 for the phones, his assumed customer pointed a brownie pistol at him, ordering him to pack the phones inside a nylon.

Not yet done, Michael as gathered, went ahead to demand for proceeds from the day’s sales. But unknown to him, a call had been put across to policemen at Ayobo, consequent upon which he was arrested.

In this interview with Crime Alert, Michael Joseph revealed that the brownie pistol in his possession was stolen from a top Military personnel in far away Abuja. On how that was possible, he stated:

Michael Joseph

Genesis of my problem
“ When I left Cotonou, Benin Republic for Nigeria, I was working as a houseboy to people.

But at a point, I had no job and was living from hand to mouth. At times, I used to help people take care of their fish ponds and at other times, I dug boreholes for people.

However, four months ago, one of my friends named Femi called me on the phone to say that there was a job in Abuja that I should report immediately. But I had no money and when I informed him, he sent me N4000 , with a promise that I would pay him back when I start receiving payment.

That was how I left for  Abuja on May 22, 2010. When I got there, it turned out to be the house of a senior Army officer who needed a house help. An agreement was reached that he would be paying me the sum of N15,000 per month as a houseboy.
But at the end of the first month, I was not paid.

After the second month, I was pad N20,000 instead of N30,000. I decided to go and lodge a complaint at the hotel owned by my boss, from where I was being paid. To my dismay, I was told that what was paid to be was my salary for two months”

….. And I stole his pistol
Like a beggar without a choice, Michael left the hotel for his duty post, apparently feeling dejected.

He however, kept on being dutiful until an opportunity to have his own pound of flesh which unfortunately landed him into trouble, came.

Continuing, he said, “ After work one day, my boss’s nephew told me oga had guns in his bedroom during discussion. Typical of me, I like seeing before believing. So, one of the days I was cleaning my boss’s bedroom, I started searching for the pistol. In the process, I found one big gun under his bed. Not done with the search I continued until I found a pistol in his drawer. Having satisfied my curiosity, I left.

After that discovery, a thought started coming into me to collect the gun and flee to Lagos. That way I thought, I could punish him for not paying me the initial agreed amount.

The thought continued until last week Friday. I initially wanted to throw it away but reasoned If I did, I would be the first suspect when my boss will be looking for it.

Then four days later, I left Abuja for Lagos, with the gun, at about 12noon and arrived Lagos about 2am but could not go home because it was late.  At about 6am, I left for Sango where my uncle lives.”

….. Intoxicated by the pistol
Arriving his uncle’s Sango abode was like visiting his home town, as he was warmly welcomed.

Michael as gathered, left his uncle’s house at about 12 noon, telling them that he was going to visit some friends. But moments later, his uncle(names withheld) was taken aback by news of his nephew’s alleged involvement in robbery.

“ I actually left home for Adan in Ogun where I had gone to see a friend and together went to a hotel close to Ayobo. Having eaten and drunk some alcohol, I left my friend’s place for home. On my way home, I saw a mobile phone shop and entered with the intention of buying one.

But while inside the shop, I saw different phones that I liked. I pointed at five of them and asked the attendant to bring them and write a receipt. When he asked me to write my name on the space provided, I told him to write Samson. At that point another thought was running through my imagination.

I thought if I used the pistol with me to threaten him, I would end up leaving the shop with the phones. So, as he asked me to sign in the space provided, I brought out the pistol, corked it and asked him to pack the phones into a nylon.

I also asked him to give me the money he realized  for the day and he said he had not  made any sale”.

….. But things fell apart
While that was going on, the shop owner reportedly sneaked out, leaving his attendant at the mercy of their unexpected visitor, where he made a call to policemen at Ayobo division.

But back in the shop, his attendant, Ujebe Christian, put up a brave act by attacking Michael. Christian, an undergraduate, made for the gun, resulting in a struggle for possession. In the process, they dragged themselves outside where help came as an angry mob disarmed Michael and descended on him.

“Yeh!, he exclaimed, I would have been set ablaze but for the timely arrival of the Police.

I remembered a liquid substance was poured on me and somebody struck a match and threw it at me but it did not ignite. It was at that moment that the police came and took me to the station. Thank God they did not set me ablaze, I would have been at the other side of the divide now”, he stated.

My Regrets
“I regret taking that pistol. I did not even know how to cork the pistol. The attendant can attest to it that I was even shivering when I brought out the gun. It even injured me as I tried to cork it the way I watched it being done in the television.

I now realise that vengeance indeed belongs to God. I tried to take revenge on my own by stealing the gun, but the consequence of my action is even more than the action that led me into taking revenge”.

On his part, the shop owner,Ujebe Okechukwu, could not hide his joy at the arrest, describing the bravery displayed by his attendant who also is his cousin and the quick response by the police as the saving grace.

Police telephone flier helped me
When he walked into the shop on that day, I had no feeling of his sinister motive. Even when I heard him order for five phones, I was very happy because since I opened the shop, I had not sold five mobile phones at a go.

But when I saw him fidgeting, my brother gave me a worried look and I quickly made for the police flier that was distributed to us sometime ago, where  numbers of all Divisional Police Officers are listed, as well as police control room.

This helped, because my brother’s suspicion was later confirmed and the police arrived promptly”.