A robbery suspect, Mr
Godwin Olukporibe, has confessed that he was forced to form a robbery gang when
his father-in-law asked him to pay N1.5 million bride price before he
could marry his pregnant girlfriend.
The suspect was arrested by
the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, of the Lagos State Police Command,
following a tip-off that he was in a hotel with his girlfriend in
Ibadan, Oyo State, western Nigeria.
Olukporibe allegedly
claimed his father-in-law initially refused to give his daughter’s hand in
marriage despite the fact that he had impregnated her and wanted to marry her. The suspect said that it
was after a lot of persuasion that he allow them marry but with the
condition that he must give him N1.5 million as bride price.
The suspect said he could
not afford the money but because he loved his wife and she was expecting his
baby, he was forced to form an armed robbery gang to raise the money. Olukporibe said he
initially went into robbery just to raise the money, but he was encouraged to
continue when he made N3 million in his first attempt.
He said he quickly paid the bride
price and married his wife without his father- in-law knowing his source
of money.
Olukporibe said because of
the success of the first robbery operation, he decided to go into full time
robbery and later graduated into kidnapping. The suspect, who hails from
Etsako Local Government in Edo State, said he was not really doing any work
before he formed the gang and became their leader. He said the gang used his
father’s car to rob people on the highway before they bought the cars they used
for their other operations.
Oluporibe confessed that he
was involved in several robbery operations on Benin-Lagos, Ibadan-Lagos
expressways and Kwara State among others. On how they operate,
Olukporibe said some of the members of the gang usually board buses as
passengers and would be communicating with others through phone calls
to keep them informed about their progress on the journey.
He said when the targeted
bus approaches the destination they have planned to operate, they
willblock the road and force the driver of the bus to stop.
“If the driver tries to
resist, those inside the bus will force him to comply. We will rob the
passengers of the bus and carry their belongings to our waiting cars and drive
off,” he said.
Olukporibe said he had been
a political thug for so many years and went into armed robbery and kidnapping
five years ago before he was arrested by the police.
He confessed that he was a
political thug for prominent politicians who armed him with weapons such as
AK47 rifles to attack their opponents.
He said most times before
the operation, the politicians will give him some money and promise to buy good
things for him but after the operation, they will distance themselves
from him.
Oluporibe said he did not
return most of the weapons, which the gang later used for their robbery and
kidnapping operations.
He said he regretted to be
an armed robber and if given a chance, he would turn a new leaf. He is still in
the custody of SARS where he is undergoing interrogation.
Olukporibe has been
detained by SARS and would be charged to court soon.
Source: PM News
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