Three suspected members of a robbery gang, which specialised in snatching exotic vehicles from women in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.
The suspected robbers were arrested by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team(IRT).
The trio , identified as Ego Ike, Obinna Igwe and Adamu Nuhu, were arrested at their hideout in Abuja and Kaduna State, after they robbed a female staff of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)of her vehicle, while she was returning home from work.
The suspects were said to have taken the vehicle, a 2016 Toyota Corolla, to Katsina State, before it was smuggled into Niger Republic
Nigerien policemen, however, accosted the gang and impounded the vehicle, while a member of the gang identified simply as Yellow, was arrested as Ike, Igwe and Nuhu, escaped back into the country.
The owner of the car was said to have reported to the police, following which the Inspector General of Police asked the IRT to fish out the bandits for diligent prosecution.
Some victims of the gang provided information that aided the operatives in apprehending three members of the gang, leaving behind the ring leader, identified simply as Linus, who is still at large.
On interrogation, the suspects explained that they targeted women because women can’t put up stiff resistance like men. The suspects also disclosed that most of the vehicles they robbed were mainly Toyota products because of the huge demand for it in the market.
Ike, 30, was quoted as saying that he took to crime because he lost all his life savings to gambling.
He said: “ I am a native of Anambra State and I went into crime because I lost the N6 million I was using to run my clothing business to gambling. I am a primary school dropout. I was formerly a spare parts dealer at the Ladipo market, Lagos, but I moved to Abuja in search of greener pasture and when I couldn’t find my bearing, I pressured my father to sell his only land in the village and he sent me to Istanbul Turkey, with the money. I stayed in Istanbul for three years; I worked and saved close to N6 million. Then I started importing clothes into Nigeria. I was supplying several shops around Abuja and Lagos State, but in 2016, one of my friends introduced me to a sport betting game and I lost all my money.
‘’My resident permits in Istanbul expired and I had no money to renew it. I became frustrated and I met Linus in one of my brother’s houses in Jai area of Abuja and we became friends. He introduced me to an armed robbery gang which had Obinna and Yellow as members and we stole a Toyota RAV4 Sport Utility Vehicle from a woman who was driving into her house in Shafar Road, Abuja,and we took the car to Kaduna.
‘’We gave the car to Nuhu, and he offered to pay N200,000. We also accosted another woman in Buhari area of Abuja. Another woman driving a Toyota Matrix and stopped in front of a shop to buy something; we approached her, snatched the car from her and took it to Kaduna.
