A robbery suspect who was paraded alongside his gang members in Rivers State, has lamented over not making enough money before his arrest.
The 28-year-old robbery suspect Junior Nmeni, who told newsmen that he and his gang members had only been able to make N223,000 and get some phones from robbery operations he participated in, further disclosed that he hoped to make enough proceeds from the crime so that he could take care of his wife.
The suspect who was paraded alongside six other members of the gang – a 25-year-old woman, Precious Okoye, aka Angel; Oliver Nwokocha; Emeka Iwuayawu; Victor Nwabusis; Sunny Nweke and Ezekiel Ishaya – was arrested by an Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team led by DCP Abba Kyari.
The expectant father who said he went into robbery after he lost his job as a cleaner at the Port Harcourt International Airport, was arrested following a petition addressed to the police by the family of a golfer, Usman Zabadi, who was reportedly killed by the gang in his house on Poultry Road, Rukpokwu, Port Harcourt.
The suspects who made away with some television sets, two mobile phones and an Automated Teller Machine card, withdrew undisclosed sums of money using the ATM card which belonged to the deceased’s wife.
The gang was busted with images generated from the CCTV at the ATM, and one Nwokocha who reportedly shot Zabadi dead, was arrested in the Iguruta area of Port Harcourt and led the operatives to apprehend other members, including Nmeni.
“I was a cleaner at the Port Harcourt International Airport where I earned N18,000 as salary. I joined the gang seven months ago because the company I worked for sacked me and things became very hard for me and my wife.
“There was a gun that belonged to my late elder brother. I found the gun in the ceiling of his apartment. There was a riot in Nwokocha’s community and I gave the gun to him. After the crisis, he used the gun to rob and he killed a man with it.
“He returned the gun and told me what he had done. I decided to join the gang. We robbed a man and a woman at Iguruta. We kidnapped the woman’s sister and I raped her. I kept her in my house for two days before Iwuayawu and I started demanding a ransom.
“We were paid N200,000 ransom and I got N23,000 as my share since we were six that did the job. The next operation I went for was at a hotel. Elvis (a gang member at large) brought one of the guns we used for the operation. It was Sunny, another member, who gave us information about the hotel. We got N21,000 from the hotel and three phones” he said.
Nmeni who disclosed that his last operation with the gang was at the home of one Mr. Ogundun, stated that they were confronted by their victim which forced them to retreat. He added that he had not made enough money from “the business” before he was arrested.
“Elvis was the one who brought ‘the job’ but on the day we went to the man’s house, we didn’t succeed. The man had a gun and he shot at Nwokocha. We took the man’s motorcycle away.
“I hadn’t made much money from ‘the business’ (robbery) before I was arrested. I was hoping to raise enough money which I intended to use for my pregnant wife’s delivery,” Nmeni stated.
