I left Army for robbery ‘because my salary was small’ - Robbery Suspect

A member of a five-man-gang of robbers, who was arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, Lagos Command, for snatching trucks carrying fuel on the highway has revealed that he left the Army and took to robbery ‘like duck to water’ because his salary was too small.

The suspect, Patrick Okoh, who left when he was a sergeant, explained that he was earning a meager salary of N33, 000 in 2009 and decided to quit. He however tried his hands on clearing and forwarding before he finally took to the life of crime.

He and another gang member, who used to pose as a naval officer, were part of the gang.

The duo used to wear army and naval uniforms to make the snatching of the trucks easier. Once the truckers are flagged down by the men in uniform, they’ll stop; unaware they had fallen into the hands of armed robbers.

The suspects are; Alex Ugboagu, 35, Evans Boniface, Aniekan Emmanuel (Navy), Patrick Okoh (soldier) and Izuchukwu Udeagwu.
They were arrested on July 21, at Iyana-Isashi.

The police said that the suspects had carried out series of operations.

A police source said: “The gang’s first robbery operation was in August 2013. They robbed a truck along Anthony Village, which was conveying 33,000 litres of PMS. They snatched it at gunpoint. The truck was diverted and taken to a filling station located in Ikorodu. They sold the content for N1.5m.
“Their second operation was in March this year. They snatched the truck along Apapa road.  They usually attack, using a Hilux van and Ford Ranger jeep. They also made use of three AK-47 rifles. They sold the second truck also conveying PMS to a filling station in Ajah also for N1.5m.”

The gang had also hijacked trucks at Iyana-Oworo, Oshod-Apapa, Sagamu, Mile 12, Sango-Ota, amongst other areas.

The police have since recovered one of the gang’s operational vehicle and army and naval uniforms.

Ugboagu said: “The normal price for a truck loaded with fuel is N3m, but we used to sell to filling stations for N1.5m. I collected N360, 000. I used the money to pay for my house rent. I used the remaining for the upkeep of my family. If we divert any truck, we do stay with the driver and the conductor. We use the Hilux van to overtake the truck once the ‘soldier’ and ‘navy’ have flagged it down. After selling the content, we would abandon the truck on an expressway, where LASTMA officials would tow it.”

Boniface is a driver. According to him, the company used to allow him to take the van to his home, he soon teamed up with others, to start using it for robbery.

Claiming that it was the devil that pushed him into taking to crime, Boniface said: “My Company pays me N48, 000 as a driver, but has increased it recently to N60, 000. I used to pick soldiers along the road, so that robbers will not snatch the van. I picked a soldier one day, who introduced robbery to me.”

He said that he later met Ugboagu who suggested diversifying into hijacking of fuel trucks.

Boniface recalled: “When the police took me and the van to my company, I was ashamed. All the engineers were shocked.”

Emmanuel, who used to pose as Naval personnel, said Ugboagu initiated him. “He told me there was a business I could make money from.  Whenever any truck comes, my work was to catch them. We used to start operation between 8pm and 9pm. Gang members call me Navy.”