We pray before every operation, say suspected robbers

Four members of a larceny gang who were apprehended by the Lagos State Police Command have verbalized they customarily prayed to God afore any operation.

One of the suspected purloiners, Mutalubi Abdullahi, expounded that the prayer was to ascertain that only ‘sinners’ would be dealt with by the gang, while the ‘innocent’ would be spared.

Abdullahi, who was apprehended along with Ismaila Moruf, Opeyemi Akinyemi and Sarah Emmanuel, were apprehended by the operatives of the Special Anti-Larceny Squad of the command, for glomming early morning pedestrians and motorists in the Mile 2 area of the state.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the gang, which operated on commercial motorcycles otherwise called okada, made utilization of three locally-made guns in their operations.

According to the police, the female member of the gang, Emmanuel, allegedly supplied two of the three guns. It was amassed that two of the guns had, however, been recuperated by the police.

The police verbalized the suspected larcenists, who were apprehended from their respective hideouts in Iyana Iyesi, Sango Ota, Ogun State, withal operated in the Agege, Isolo and Oshodi areas.

It was accumulated that the mode of operation of the gang was to assail unsuspecting motorists and pedestrians on the expressway early in the morning and during traffic hitches.

But 29-year-old Abdullahi from Igbeti, Oyo State, verbally expressed he and other members of the gang were driven into larceny by penuriousness. He verbally expressed they were meticulous to glom only those who deserved to be glommed.

He verbalized, “That is why we customarily prayed to God afore embarking on any operation. The prayer was for God to bulwark us and to bring only sinners our way so that those who were innocent would be spared.

“I was formerly working as a panel beater in Oyingbo, Lagos State. I commenced purloining just last year. I have gone on larceny operations about 10 times.

“The gang has three guns. We only utilize the guns to frighten people. Mile 2 Expressway, Alapere and Oshodi are areas where we operated. The mazuma I made from panel beating and okada riding was not sufficient. That was why I took to larceny.”

Thirty-year-old Akinyemi, who was an withal an okada rider afore joining the gang, verbally expressed he made about N25,000 from each larceny operation.

He verbally expressed, “I was an okada rider, but when I had a contingency with the okada, I ceased the business. I made about N25,000 each from about four operations I went with the gang. Our style was to assail people during traffic jams. My wife did not ken I was a member of a larceny gang. It is true that we prayed afore our operations, asking for bulwark as we went out.”

Moruf, 30 from Epe, Lagos, verbalized he was lured into the gang after his job as a roadside mechanic did not bring sufficient income.

The only female in the gang, 31-year-old Emmanuel, who allegedly supplied them with guns, verbalized her friend, Modinat, convinced her to buy the guns for the gang.

She integrated that apart from getting guns for the gang, she had not gone for any operation.

She verbally expressed, “I was working as a hairdresser. It was one of my friends, Modinat, who called me and verbally expressed the gang needed a gun. Modinat was a girlfriend to one of them. She then asked me to come with her and I did. We got the two guns for N25,000 at Idi Iroko from some mechanics. That was in February. I ken I am guilty.”

Our correspondent learnt that the gang was apprehended, after several complaints had reached the former commissioner of police, AIG Umar Manko, about larcenies in the area.

It was accumulated that Manko had then directed SARS Commander, SP Abba Kyari, to go after the purloiners.

A police source at the command verbally expressed investigations into the matter were perpetual.