robbery attack on

LAGOS—Police have arrested three
suspected members of a robbery gang that
invaded the Anthony Village home of the

Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Sam
Amuka, last month.
Recall that the bandits also attacked the 81-
year-old Publisher with iron rods and other
dangerous weapons, at the end of which his
mobile phone, electronic gadgets, money
and other valuables were stolen.
Although two of the suspects claimed to be
from Borno State, while the third said he
was a Chadian, police said preliminary
investigation revealed that they are all
citizens of the Republic of Chad.
The suspects, identified as Musa Atim
Abubakar, 32; Abdulrasaq Hassan, 43, and
Umar Useni, 46, were arrested in Festac and
Ajao Estate in Lagos, and Sango Otta in
Ogun State. A Mitsubishi saloon car, with
number plates LSD 337 BQ, which they
drove on the day of the robbery was also
recovered.
They were said to be on the verge of selling
the vehicle at a give-away price and flee to
Niger Republic, when they were arrested.
Lagos police boss speaks
Briefing newsmen on their arrest, Lagos
State’s Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai
Owoseni, said: “Since the incident
happened, the command deployed all
available techniques at its disposal to get
the suspects.
“We were able to get three of them, who
were interrogated and they have confessed
to the crime. We are looking for the fourth
man, because Mr. Amuka said they were
four men that attacked him.
“The vehicle they used on that day, including
a sledge hammer and an iron cutter, were
recovered from them.
“They are Chadians and cross country
criminals. We are still interrogating them. At
the end of our interrogation, we believe we
will get more facts, especially their motive,
since this attack on Amuka was not the
first.”
He was, however, mum on the details of
their arrest, explaining that divulging such
would jeopardise investigation.
Private guards’ role
To the astonishment of all, the suspects,
who were paraded before journalists,
revealed that two private guards attached to
the premises of the publisher gave their
fleeing gang leader, who they identified
simply as Gambo, information that there
was money in the house.
According to one of them, Useni, who spoke
in pidgin English: “I am from Gamboru Ngala
Local Government Area of Borno State. I am
not from Chad. I have been living in Satellite
Town since 2011. I have worked as a
gardener in a school around that area before
I met Gambo, our leader.
“Two security men in Baba’s (Amuka)
compound brought the information to
Gambo. They told Gambo to come with his
boys on a Saturday, that Baba brought some
money home. One of the guards is an Ibo
man, while the other is Hausa. Gambo
knows their names, but I don’t.
“On the day we attacked, I met Gambo at
Apple Junction, after a telephone
conversation, from where we headed to
Anthony Village.
“I did not beat Baba. He fell down while he
was running. When I saw blood on him, I
begged my colleagues not to harm him
because he is an old man. Besides, Baba
threw an envelope at me when we asked
him to give us the money. In it was
N300,000.
“After the operation, we drove to a hotel
where we shared the money. The security
men that brought the business got N30,000
each. Gambo took the money to them on
Sunday evening and they told us to go into
hiding that policemen were around.”
Loot sharing
On his part, Atim Abubakar, who also spoke
in pidgin, said: “I was in my house at Sango,
when Mohammed (pointing to one of his
partners in crime) called me on phone that
there was a job we had to execute.
“He said Gambo, our leader, brought the job.
They said I should come and meet them at
Anthony, from where we drove to the house.
“While Hassan (the driver) waited in the car,
three of us went inside. We tied the security
men at the gate and went upstairs. We
broke the ceiling and made straight for
Baba’s apartment, where we met him
sleeping.
“Immediately he saw us, he ran. While
Umaru and Mohammed went after him, I
went straight to the cupboard where I saw
some newspapers and N100,000. I also
collected two pieces of 20 pounds.
I did not know it was Pound Sterling until
Gambo told me. At the end of the operation,
we all got N70,000 each.”
I got N30,000—DRIVER
The third suspect, Hassan, who claimed to
be a bureau-de-change operator, revealed
that he also ran a car hire service in Ajao
Estate. He stated that his vehicle was hired
and that he did not know that they were
going to rob.
After the operation, he said that he drove
the suspects to his house at Ajao, where
the money was shared, adding that his
share was N30,000.