by Zara Mustapha

A three-man robbery gang, Ibrahim Tijani, Saheed Oloruntoyin and Lukmon Oladimeji, has been busted by the police after they had snatched a car from a woman.

32-year-old Tijani from Oke Olola in Oyo town, Oyo State an auto mechanic and the two members of his gang reportedly specialized in stealing vehicles in Abuja , especially of the Nissan brand and transported to Oyo state to be sold to unsuspecting customers.

They also stole vehicles from Oyo state, transporting them to Abuja and sold.

Nigerian Tribune reports:

This went on until nemesis caught up with them recently when they allegedly graduated to dispossessing car owners of their vehicles, and, unfortunately, the victim turned out to be someone close to a member of the gang.

Crime Reports gathered that on February 16, the gang members were at a beer parlour when an argument arose, as Oloruntoyin castigated Tijani over a Honda car that was snatched from a woman in Abuja. He happened to know the woman. In the heat of the argument, a policeman who overheard them reportedly informed the Officer in Charge of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Oyo/Ogbomoso axis, Olusola Aremu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police.

The officer deployed a team of SARS operatives, led by one ASP Abiodun Aluko, who arrested Tijani, Oloruntoyin and Lukmon Oladimeji. During interrogation, they admitted their involvement in car robbery while seven Nissan cars suspected to have robbed from their owners were recovered. The operatives are said to be on the trail of the Honda which it was learnt had been sold to someone in Lagos State.

In an interview with Crime Reports, two of the three suspects – Tijani and Oloruntoyin-took turns to push the blame to each other while Oladimeji said he had only been to a robbery operation with Tijani once, though he knew he was into criminal acts.

Tijani told Crime Reports: “I am an automobile mechanic. I was in Gwagwalada, Abuja before I relocated to Oyo in December, 2012. I was arrested by the police over the vehicles we robbed people. I didn’t rob more than two cars.

“I knew Saheed in Abuja; I used to work on his father’s cars.

“ Saheed told me that his friend had a Nissan vehicle in Abuja and asked whether I needed it.

 “It was Saheed who gave me Nissan keys and we went to Abuja to steal the car. We saw a car owner who parked his car along Airport Road, Abuja. Immediately he moved away, we went to the car, opened it with our own key and drove it away. Saheed also sold one Nissan car to me N150,000 and I sold it for N180,000.

I bought the second vehicle in January this year. I paid N140,000 for it.” I started robbery as a result of his experience in the hand of a fraudulent Alfa.

“When I left Abuja, I had N160,000 which I wanted to use to start a business. Saheed advised me that I should seek help from the  Alfa so that my business would prosper. The Alfa started taking the money from me little by little until it was exhausted.”

Lukmon Oladimeji (24)said “I learnt tailoring in Lagos and finished in 2010 but when I did not have money to buy equipment, I contacted a friend and he connected me with one Yisa in Abuja. I lived in Suleja and was working at Area 3, Abuja but the salary was poor.

“I later met Saheed in the compound where I lived and he was the one helping me. One day, I saw Ibrahim in our compound when he came to repair Saidi’s car. I told saheed that I needed another job. I went to Port Harcourt and later linked up with Saidi who was in Oyo then. I told him I wanted to come to Oyo. Because Saheed’s was married, I could not stay with him so I started staying with Ibrahim since November 2013.

“I only worked with him to steal a car. We left Oyo for Abuja because Ibrahim already told me what we were going to do. He already had keys of Nissan cars. He used one of the keys to open the door of the car and drove it away.”

Saheed (29), who said he has two wives and four children, disclosed that he knew Tijani through his own father. “One day my father called me and warned to stop associating with Ibrahim as he was a known robber. One day, I heard that he stole a car battery and he was caught but he denied. He told me he wanted me to return to Oyo and I introduced him to an Alfa to help him with charms for good fortunes.

“He later told me the man collected all his money.

“He brought a vehicle to me in 2012 and I sold it to someone. I never knew then that it was a stolen vehicle until he brought another one. I continued to buy from him after then.

 When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Okuwobi-Ilobanafor, said that further investigations were still being conducted on the criminal activities of the gang, adding that they would be charged to court after the conclusion of investigations.