Suspects arrested for ‘one-chance robbery’ makes shocking confessions

A four-man robbery gang operating from Ojuelegba in Surulere to Ketu in Lagos Mainland has been busted by the operatives of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

Two suspects were arrested. They are the commercial bus driver, Ndidi Melenu, 30, from Kwale in Delta State and his conductor, Emmanuel Shoko, 31. The other two are at large.

A source said the hoodlums operated in a commercial bus from Ojuelegba to Ketu almost on a daily bases, snatching people’s money, phones, laptops and other valuables.

The source said some of their victims alerted the Department of State Services (DSS), who informed SARS operatives. The operatives, after days of surveillance, reportedly nabbed Ndidi and Shoko, the driver and the conductor.

The Nation learnt that the third member of the gang, simply identified as Sodiq, aka Elere and the fourth, Idowu, alias Owo Master, whose role was to buy stolen goods, were at large.

Confessing, Ndidi said: “I dropped out of secondary school at SS1 due financial problem and became a commercial driver. My father had eight children from two wives, but I married one wife. Unfortunately, I could not take care of her.

“In my state of hopelessness and financial frustration, I met a bad friend called Eche, who introduced me to this one-chance work. Although he is now late.

I used to deliver N5,000 to the bus owner every day, and I shared N10,000 with my conductor daily.

“When Eche introduced me to the job, I started making big money until I was arrested.”

The second suspect, Shoko, said: “I was managing the small money I made as a bus conductor until Idowu introduced this one-chance work to me.

“He told us that it was not one- chance robbery, but pickpocketing, as they only collected victims’ phones and money without using force or gun.

“It was when I was arrested that the police told me that it was one-chance robbery.”