How our benefactor groomed us to be armed robbers

[Mirror]

To residents of Lalupon, Oyo State, 25-year-old Oluwatosin is a successful businessman who owns a block making factory. But it is all a facade; he is a notorious armed robbery kingpin. So, his accomplices have disclosed.

The Oyo State Command of the Nigeria Police has declared wanted a notorious robbery kingpin following the earthshaking confessions of his cohorts now in police net. The wanted gangster, Oluwatosin, was said to be a specialist in snatching of exotic cars from owners at gunpoint. Investigations revealed that Oluwatosin, 25, lives an affluent life from the proceeds of his loot. It was discovered that once he snatched a car, he sent such to his 'men' in Rivers and Bayelsa states to have it sold out at give-away price.

His age notwithstanding, investigations further showed that the robbery kingpin tutors many robbers in the nefarious act as many 'autonomous' notorious robbers in the state were said to have undergone one form of tutelage or the other under him. Oluwatosin runs a block-making factory at Lalupon area in the outskirts of Ibadan, the state capital. Before he ventured into the business, that the notoriously fierce robber was a student at The Polytechnic, Ibadan but was expelled for uncomplimentary practices.

Shortly after leaving school, Oluwatosin reportedly took to driving commercial buses in the metropolis. Obviously, the 'stipends' from bus driving was not the kind of money he was looking for, so he ventured fully into robbery.

But not many of his customers and neighbours had inkling that Oluwatosin was a notorious robber. With fleet of exotic cars parked in his compound, Oluwatosin, however, lived beyond his income as a block-maker. But the few that knew him well would recall that back in 2011, he was a guest of the Oyo State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) for similar charges. After being left off the hook, he rather than changed his ways only continued until the long hands of the law caught up with him and his atrocities were laid bare for all to see.

Oluwatosin met his waterloo recently when he allegedly led his gang to snatch a Toyota Camry saloon car in the metropolis. With strict directive of Commissioner of Police Mohammed Indabawa to his men to fish out those behind the recent increase in car snatching in the state, law enforcement agents swung into action and their crackdown on suspected robbers in the state soon led them to the discovery of Oluwatosin's escapades. In the clampdown, the car theft was traced to his gang.

Men of the SARS in the state then swooped on his residence and were reportedly shocked with what they discovered there. In the compound were parked seven exotic cars of various make. Three of his partners-in-crime were also arrested in his compound during the raid.

They later confessed to their crimes and the roles Oluwatosin played in it all. The arrested suspects were Saidi, Kazeem and Olakunle. The trio initially feigned ignorance of the robbery allegations against them, but later owned up and confessed to working for the fleeing robbery kingpin. Based on the revelations of the three suspects, police beamed their searchlight on Port Harcourt where they discovered a couple of stolen vehicles by Oluwatosin. The cars were meant for sale at considerably cheap rates in the state.

They were recovered while two people, Tony and Raphael, allegedly involved in the sale of stolen cars were also apprehended. Kazeem was first to speak claiming that he used to repair generating set for Oluwatosin before he was co-opted into the robbery syndicate. According to Kazeem, "Before I knew Tosin, I was a known and popular generator repairer, but when Oyo State government demolished shops for construction, I had nowhere to go.

That was when I approached Tosin who was by then, my customer to allow me use a portion of his shop to attend to my customers. After some time, he asked me to live with him since he has many rooms unoccupied in his compound and I seized the opportunity. That was when I knew that Tosin was into robbery because I witnessed when he snatched a Mercedes Benz from its owners," Kazeem said.

The detained robber went ahead to reveal how Oluwatosin recruited him into robbery, but remained tight-lipped on the number of operations he had undertaken with his principal. Another arrested suspect, Saidi, who served as the chief driver to the gang recalled how he was drafted into the gang by Oluwatosin. "I am a professional driver all my life.

Sometime in March this year, I approached Tosin to allow me drive one of his buses and he obliged. He gave me a bus then to ply Ibadan and Abuja but I soon had accident with it. After I recovered, he gave me another bus to work but that would not also last because he always used the bus to supply his customers with blocks. "That was when he asked me to come drive him but I never knew then that he was a robber.

It was when I started driving him that I knew what was happening and I joined him," Saidi said. A senior police source at the Iyaganku headquarters of the command said that efforts are high to apprehend Oluwatosin whom he claimed had caused a lot of panic to car owners in the state. "I can assure doubting Thomases that before long, we shall have the suspect in our cell. Let everyone know that no one can hide from justice."