Confession of an armed robber: My wife gave me away to the police

By Saka Gbeminiyi

A robbery suspect has told the Sunday Tribune that the statement his wife gave to the police was responsible for his present woes. The suspect, Sikiru Yusuff had earlier convinced the Police that he was not involved in the robbery case, but when the Police invited his wife, Mrs Kehinde Yusuff, for interrogation, the woman’s statement clearly showed that there was a conspiracy between her husband and Wasiu Ajani to steal and sell a motorcycle in question.

Speaking with Sunday Tribune, the prime suspect, Wasiu Ajani, 20 said that the pressure to refund a money given to him by his boss but which he lost led him to robbery. “ My name is Wasiu Ajani. Iam 20 years old. I am a native of Abeokuta. I attended Olumo Primary School. I did not go beyond primary school because I lost my daddy at a very tender age and my mother could not fund my education. I decided to become a professional butcher. I was already learning the trade.

“ My problem started when my boss at abattoir gave me some money to keep for him, but some people stole about N15,000.00 from it and my boss became mad with me over it. I tried to raise the money on my own but I could not. At a point, I had to run away from our shop because my boss threatened me. I decided to go and steal the motorcycle so that I could repay him.”

On how he stole the motorcycle. “ I had been an Okada operator before, so, it was very easy for me to steal it. On that day, I woke up very early in the morning and as I stepped out of my house, I saw a commercial motorcycle parked outside. I looked round to ensure nobody was watching me. The motorcycle was locked but becuase of my experience, I unlocked it by joining some wires and immediately I started engine. I zoomed off to Ilaro to dispose it.

On why he decided to go to Ilaro to sell the motorcycle and whether there was a ready-made market there, the suspect said. “ I learnt from our colleagues at Lafenwa area that my friend, Sikiru Yusuff had gone to Ilaro and I knew that we would get a buyer at Ilaro”.

However, problem started when they got the buyer. The buyer insisted on paying N30,000.00. “ When we got to Ilaro, we saw a man that was willing to buy the motorcycle but the price was the problem.The man said he would pay N30,000.00, while I insisted on selling it for N50,000.00. But later because I was in need of money, I told him to pay the N30,000.00. The bargain arouse the suspicison of the people around and they asked me to produce the receipts of. the motorcycle. Because I had no paper on me, they invited the police and we were taking to the police station.

On the involvement of the second suspect, Sikiru Yusuff in the crime, the police informed Sunday Tribune that Sikiru was a blatant liar.” You see, the second suspect was arrested together with the prime suspect, but when he was arrested he gave the impression that he was innocent and that his meeting with the prime suspect was just by accident, but when we invited his wife for interrogation, the woman gave a graphic details of her husband’s involvement in the crime.

“For instance, the wife said that the prime suspect was with her husband a day to the day the motorcycle was stolen. They committed the offence on Friday but on Thursday, the two suspects were together till 10pm in Abeokuta and by 8.am on Friday, they were at Ilaro to sell the motorcycle. So, there is a conspiracy theory. They planned it together. The wife gave us all the necessary information about her husband’s movement and from that information, it was clear that Sikiru partook in the crime.

“ The wife equally told us that when her husband was living home, he did not tell her that he was going to Ilaro and from experience, it was typical of armed robbers to conceal information about their movements and activities from their wives so as not to arouse any suspicion. So, when you put all these information together, you will see that the two suspects planned and executed the operation together.”

Speaking on the case, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Femi Awoyale, told Sunday Tribune that the two suspects would soon be charged to court to face the music.

He equally used the opportunity to warn criminals to steer clear of Ogun State as the command would not tolerate any act of criminality. “ We have been warning them to leave this state for us. We are not going to condone criminals in Ogun State.