Pardoned prison inmate re-arrested for armed robbery

The police in Lagos State have arrested a 22-year-old man, Musa Ojo, for armed robbery.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspect was among the prison inmates recently pardoned by the state government in pursuant to the provisions of Section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice Release from Custody Special Provision Act, CAP C40, 2007, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
It was learnt that a few weeks after his release, the suspect, who goes by the pseudonym, Agba Musa, and two others at large, on September 14, 2013, snatched a Toyota Corolla car marked LSR 587 AR.

Our correspondent learnt that operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, who were on patrol duty at the Ijesha end of Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, sighted the robbers and chased them.

Police said when the heat became too much for the robbers, they jumped out of the vehicle and took to their heels.

Musa was, however, arrested by SARS men and the vehicle was recovered, while the other two escaped.

Speaking with our correspondent at the state command headquarters in Ikeja, the suspect said it was not his initial plan to become an armed robber.

He said, “Initially, I did not want to be an armed robber. I lived in Ebute Meta and I owned a motorcycle. Two of my friends told me to give them a ride to Aguda, Surulere. On getting there, they brought out guns and started robbing people. I swear I did not know that they were going for an operation. That was how I joined them.

“I ended up following them for 10 robbery operations. We usually operated in Onike, Yaba, Bariga and Somolu, where we robbed small shops. Later, we started snatching vehicles such as Toyota and Honda and we would give a dealer to sell. My share was always N50,000.

“My gang comprised myself, Kehinde Nice, Asumo and Nuru. The police arrested Asumo and I, while Nuru was killed. Kehinde is still on the run.”

The suspect said after spending one and a half years in prison, he and about 80 others were pardoned.

He said he went back to robbery because he was tempted by bad friends and needed money to survive.

While crying profusely, he said, “I dropped out of school in JSS2 and became an apprentice at a mechanic workshop but I did not finish my training.

“After sometime, I got a girl pregnant and became a father with responsibilities. Unfortunately, my father is late and my mother is old, so I have no one to help me.

“After leaving prison, I started receiving calls from people that they needed vehicles and I was short of money. So, I thought to myself that if I could steal just one car, I would be alright. I did not know that police had been on my trail from the day I was released.”

The Oyo State indigene asked the police to give him one more chance, promising that he would not return to his old ways.

“I never killed anyone during my robberies, please. If they can spare me one last time, I will be grateful,” he said.

Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Damasus Ozoani, said the suspect would be charged to court for armed robbery.