Suspected robbers: Our leader betrayed us

TWENTY six years old Moses Osareme and Mukaila Rasak are two members of a gang of notorious armed robbers, who hide under the deplorable state of Ota Agbara Road in Ogun State to unleash terror on innocent villagers along the road. The duo have been arrested by men of the Lagos State police command.

Moses and Mukaila feel embittered that the leader of their gang, who they simply identified as Stanley, betrayed them, by escaping from the scene of a robbery, after they had successfully held residents of Lusada hostage.

“Our leaders, Stanley and Chima, escaped and the two of us were arrested. They jumped into the vehicle and before we could join them, Stanley started the car and escaped, leaving us to be arrested. If he had waited, we would all have escaped”, lamented Osareme.

The duo were last week arrested by men of Mopol 20 Squadron, led by the commander, Bello A. Mohammed, who were driving along the Ogun Road. The suspected armed robbers after being accosted by their victims had tried to shoot, before the policemen saved the situation.

The commissioner of police in charge of Lagos State, Umar Manko, while speaking on the arrest of the armed robbers, said that two double barrel cut to size short gun and 2 expended cartridges were recovered from the suspects.

Osaremen, while speaking with Crime & Security, confessed to being a member of the armed robbery gang, but claimed that he had only gone on two operations with the gang.

“I was introduced into armed robbery by Stanley. I was selling electronics parts at Alaba International Market. It was at the market that I knew Stanley. He said he wanted to introduce me into a business and when I asked him what kind of business, he just told me that a business that would give me more money.”

The Edo State born suspect however said that “Later I knew that it was robbery that he was talking about. I have gone on two operations with him. The first one, he gave me 50, 000 naira and the second one, he gave me 15, 000 naira.”

Mukaila Rasak, a 24-year-old motorcycle engineer, also claimed that Stanley introduced him into the job and insisted that he was caught the first time that he went on operation with the gang.

The Oyo State born suspect narrated that “Stanley and I met at Alaba International Market, where I was offloading for vehicles. After that we became friends and there was a time I told him to always call me, whenever there is offloading business.”

Mukaila added that “I called him to know if there was any offloading business and he told me that he got a big one for me. It was when I went with him and two others that we were arrested and handed over to the police.”

The suspect, while narrating how they were arrested said that “We had already completed the operations. We had collected money and phone from our victims and we were leaving when our leader, Stanley and Chima, left us behind.”

Crime & Security however gathered that immediately Stanley and the other members of the gang escaped, Mukaila and Osareme, who were both holding a double barrel short gun, attempted to scare away their victims, who were then mobilising to arrest them, before men of Mopol 20 arrived the scene.