•I robbed to bribe my lecturer
•I slept with my victim before arrest
•My hands are clean — Pastor

By SIMON EBEGBULEM, Benin City

The Edo state Police Command, last Wednesday, paraded three notorious burglars among them an assistant Pastor in one of the new generation churches, Osazee Igbinigie, who specialized in cyber crime. Others are 28 -year-old Samson Ogbesosa, an indigene of Edo state who robbed a girl of her handset and was arrested after he slept with his victim. ATM, Burglar, Suspects One of the burglars, Victor Ngwoka, an indigene of Imo State, is a Diploma Student at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

He was arrested after he attacked a boutique along Akenzua road Benin City. Victor escaped death through the whiskers as he was about to be burnt alive by angry mob before the police came to his rescue. During an interview, the suspected burglars, Victor and Samson, confessed their sins and prayed for forgiveness, but Pastor Igbinigie who had earlier confessed to the crime suddenly changed his statement during this interview, denying being involved in cybercrime.

How I robbed the boutique

In his own account, Victor who invaded a boutique along Akenzua road with a hammer, said :”I went to a boutique to steal cloths before the people around caught me and that was around 7:30pm. They started beating me. In fact, I was almost burnt alive before the police came and they handed me over to the police. I am a student at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. I actually came to Benin to see a friend and a taxi driver carried me around that shop at Akenzua. That was the day I saw the shop and I went back there the next day to rob. I am a 200 level diploma student and my GP is not good enough in school because this is my final year in Diploma. So, I am actually looking for money to use to bribe our coordinator in school so that he will help upgrade my GP.

My escapade at Onitsha

“ There was a time I stole some cloths in Onitsha, that was last year but I did not succeed just like the one I did now that I was arrested. This time around while I was about operating, people around the shop saw the light of a touch inside and that was how they raised alarm. I went there with a hammer and chisel. What I did was to remove the ceiling of the roof so that I can pack some of the cloths to go and sale because I need money to go and give our coordinator in school. I am not staying with my parents, my uncle is paying my school fees.

Why I needed money

“I don’t want the two years I spent as a Diploma student to be a waste and that was why I was really desperate for money. Unfortunately, I don’t have anybody that can help me. This was the only solution for me. I am begging the government to forgive me, I will change for the better. I will never try this again even if it means me leaving the school, I will leave it and find something else to do rather than endangering my life. In fact, I thank the police for saving my life if not the people would have killed me.

Romance and set-up

The third suspect, Ogbesosa, who stole a hand set from a girl told Crime Alert : “ I am here because I stole a handset through a window three weeks ago. I was arrested by the owner of the handset. When I called the owner of the hand set, she picked the call and came to see me. We slept together but it was the next day that the police came to arrest me. I did not know she set me up. This is my first time. I am a bricklayer. I am feeling bad now. I am married but she is not around. I feel so ashamed of myself and I am begging the government to forgive me, I will not do this again. I really don’t know what came over me.”

Pastor’s account

In his own account, Pastor Igbinigie, who claimed to be a graduate of Abjuratory Technology at UNIBEN, said “ On Thursday last week, I went to the bank because my brother told me he sent me N5,000. So, when I slot my card into the machine, the ATM told me that my card had expired. So, I went into the bank premises to complain, then they told me that they had the report that my account was used to perpetrate fraud, that I should wait. I sat down waiting before I saw the policemen who came to arrest me and took me to Evbotubu Police station. I was shocked because that account was opened since 2004 when I was teaching in a private school. I feel embarrassed now because I don’t know who did that to me. They said a prominent woman of God used it and I have never received any fraudulent money from it. I work with my brother at Ekenwa road. I know that sometimes, people call me to send money into my account for one issue or the other, that is why I am just confused now but I leave everything to God.”

Police reacts

The Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Osifo Stanley, who paraded the suspects on behalf of the state Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, explained how the suspectes were arrested, asserting that they will be charged to court after investigations are completed.

His words: “ One Osaze Igbinigie was arrested in a popular bank in Benin in an attempt to withdraw money with his ATM. Unknown to him, the police has put a red alert on that account because the account was opened with the intention to defraud unsuspecting victims and that is his stock in trade and he has done this over a year now. We monitored him and he was arrested eventually. He confessed to the crime, that he was lured into it by a friend who is now abroad.

Their operational method

“What they do is to open a fake face book account with any well to do Nigerian purporting to be the person. They open an account and money will be paid in by an unsuspecting victim, thinking that he was actually transacting business with that known person. The case is under investigation to unravel the secret behind the crime and his accomplices because, it is obvious he is not alone in this business. He belongs to a syndicate popularly known as cybercrime.”

Serial burglars

“Then the other two suspects paraded, these are serial burglars. They are in the habit of moving from one identified shop to the other. During the day time, they dress like normal law abiding citizens, they go to shops to buy things but unknown to the owners of these shops, they are on surveillance.

How 1st suspect carried out the operation

In this particular incident, Victor visited a shop in the afternoon, bought an article and he surveyed the exit and entrance to the boutique. In the night, he resurfaced, while the owners of the shop were trying to close for the day, he hid by the stair case and he was locked inside the shop. After the owners left, he broke into the shop, went through the ceiling where he had hidden his burglary equipment. But the noise alerted people and they raised alarm.