Sunday, May 2, 2010
'Our plan to rob a wealthy Alhaja failed because of our inexperience'

AKINWALE ABORISADE


They dreamt big and planned to get rich quick. After carefully mapping out their robbery plan, the three suspects struck. But they were unlucky. AKINWALE ABORISADE writes about their escapade.





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THEY were jolly good friends. But, perhaps, it is for wrong reasons. Having met just two years ago, the trio had carried on in shady deals. They pressed on with impunity until nemesis caught up with them.

Now they are all languishing in detention, unsure of what fate has in stock for them. Having been in detention for about five weeks, Akanni Abeeb, 21; Ibrahim Mojeed 18; and Abiodun Raji, 18 now look forlorn and dejected.

They are now grieving, saying that their experience in detention is like 'a sojourn in hell.' They now look dirty and pale with bad odour oozing from their infected skins.

The bandits were nabbed after a failed attempt to rob an Alhaja (name withheld), a popular cloth merchant at Gbagi Market, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Abeeb, the ringleader, reportedly led his gang to Alhaja's house at Alafia Oluwa Community, Airport Area, Alakia, Ibadan, with the purpose of robbing her of money and other valuables. To prosecute their plan, they bought a toy pistol, which was covered with black masking tape to make it look real. They also bought one iron hammer and a sharp cutlass.

At about 8.30 pm on March 13, 2010, the bandits, dressed in black jeans and T-shirts with masks, arrived at Alhaja's premises, and waited for the right time to strike. They kept an eye on the house to assess the situation before proceeding.

Unknown to them however, an occupant of the house had sighted the three suspects from the house. She quickly alerted other residents. The people reinforced with the help of other residents and cordoned off the area. Then they made a telephone call to the police. The suspects were arrested and whisked to the Airport Police Station, Alakia, for interrogation. The items found on the suspects included two black masks, a toy gun, a cutlass and a hammer.

During interrogation, the trio confessed to the crime. They told the police that they had made earlier attempts to rob the woman but they hesitated because they felt that the time was not right.

Abeeb, who stays at Kenzy Compound, Itabaale, Ibadan, told SUNDAY PUNCH that he led the gang to the premises where they were arrested. He explained that he was introduced to the woman that they planned to rob through Akanni Kolawole, his elder brother, who is a Muslim cleric and a student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. The Alhaja, he said, usually invited Muslim clerics for regular special prayers in her house. On such occasions, the clerics usually visited the house with Islamic trainees.

"Alhaja trusted all of us that used to come to pray for her as men of God. She usually allowed us into her room to conduct special prayers," Abeeb said. "That was how I got to know that the woman is very rich." But Abeeb said that the idea of robbing her originated from Raji, his close friend, who is a commercial motorbike operator.

Abeeb, a former student of Loyola College, Old Ife Road, Ibadan, said, "Alhaja is very rich. I used to see money and lots of treasures in her house. Each time we were in her house I always marvelled at the beautiful things there. On so many occasions we would see her counting money. I became tempted."

He said that attempting to steal money and other belongings in the woman's house was however very difficult for him because of heavy presence of the people. He therefore decided to seek the advice and support of his friends.

Having divulged the necessary information about the woman to his friends, they decided to rob her. Abeeb said that they saved some money to buy weapons that they could use for the operation. They bought the toy gun, a cutlass and a hammer as advised by Raji. Abeeb alleged that Raji was a very bold person. "He gave us courage to operate," he said. "But we hesitated twice before we finally made up our minds to attack the residence."

But Raji denied his friend's allegation. He said that he was only invited for the operation after Abeeb and Mojeed had concluded that they would rob Alhaja. Raji said that he agreed to join the gang because he wanted some money.

"I went for the operation without wearing any mask because I felt that nobody could recognise me, not because I was daring," Raji said. "Our mission was to rob Alhaja of her money and other belongings since we are very poor boys. We went there on a motorbike and hid nearby the house. I was the one that rode the bike. We armed ourselves with cutlass, a hammer and a toy gun that we bought at Ogunpa Market. We were still waiting for the right time to strike when the police rounded us up."

Raji, a trained barber, said that March 13, 2010 was the first time that he ever attempted to rob. He said that Abeeb, whom he met about two years ago at the mosque, introduced him to the act.

Raji, who claimed that he joined the bad gang due to poverty, said his father is a commercial driver, while his mother sells honey. He finished from Oba Akinbiyi High School, Ibadan in 2009 and had been operating commercial motorbike until he joined the gang.

Abeeb, the last child of his family, trained as a butcher at the New Gbagi Market but said that he left the trade after his apprenticeship. "I wanted to go to school like my elder brother and I was struggling to gain admission into higher institution," Abeeb said. His father, Abdulrazaq Abubakar, is a Muslim cleric and had lost his sight since 1999 after a prolonged illness. Abeeb denied ever stealing or robbing in the past and claimed that Raji was a bad influence on him. He said that their plan to rob was not successful because they were inexperienced.

Abeeb said that he had managed to escape from the scene but went back to surrender himself, "because I felt it was no use trying to escape since the others had been held. I knew that the others would eventually lead the police to our house if I did not surrender myself."

He explained that he was not sure if his brother was aware of his arrest or not since he had gone back to school. According to Abeeb, his elder brother studied Building Technology at Ede Polytechnic, Ede. He however said that he did not know the course he is studying at OAU at present.

The third member of the gang, Mojeed, said that Abeeb and Raji came to his house a few days to the day that they were arrested to invite him for robbery operation. He agreed to join them when his friends convinced him that they would make a lot of money if they succeeded. Mojeed said, "I never robbed in my life. But when I was invited I did not object because I was attracted by money."


http://odili.net/news/source/2010/may/2/808.html

Next time, do all the assigned homework and you will never get confused in the midst of robbery. Who knows how they graduated from robbery university? Could it be they graduated through the back door or the poor quality of education in Nigerian schools?

Stupid Fools.