Police constable involved in armed robbery

Ochie Andrew

Activities at Festac Police division went on as usual on April 6, 2011, with the men on alert. At 8.30am, an Anti-Robbery police team were seen scampering into one of the patrol vans. Destination was an apartment around Amuwo -Odofin, where a distress call informing that some gang of robbers clad in police uniform were operating.

However, when the Anti-Robbery team arrived the scene with each taking strategical positions, they succeeded in gaining entry into an apartment where a foreign national, a Taiwanese, was found lying helplessly on the floor with his hands handcuffed. But as the team corked their gun in readiness for any shoot-out, they sighted the robbers in police uniform. To their astonishment, one of the hoodlums turned out to be no other than their very own constable and another serving policeman whose identity and command could not be ascertained.

Immediately the information reached the command’s boss, Mr Suleiman Abba , he ordered that Constable Ochie Andrew be tried in orderly room, where he was found guity and subsequently dismmised from the force.

But the 23- year-old ex- Constable is not in this alone as he disclosed to Crime Alert when he was paraded Thursday at the command’s headquarters. He said the mastermind of the foiled robbery operation was no other than their victim’s employee.

The Benue state-born young man who was enlisted into the Force in 2007 revealed his role in the foiled robbery saga.

Excerpts: I was deployed to a hotel close to the residence of one foreigner to provide security. In the course of my duty, this man (pointing to the Taiwanese employee), who has been lodging in the hotel met me and said he wanted me to help him get money from a man that was owing him. He said he needed some policemen to threaten the man. But I told him, I could not do it alone that I would need about three more policemen. And I got just one.

So , on the day in question, we went to the man’s house and met somebody with him who went out on seeing us. But before we knew what was happening, policemen just came from nowhere”

Asked if they went with handcuff, he replied, “ I did not go in with them , so I can not tell whether the man was handcuffed. But when they sighted the police, they took to their heels leaving me behind”

He claimed not to know the identity of the other policeman he invited , saying he met him in a social gathering. But the Lagos State Commissioner of Police , Mr Suleiman Abba, revealed that the fleeing policeman had been identified . But he did not disclose his identity. He only said the fleeing policeman was not from the Lagos State Command but assured that after orderly room trial, he would be dismissed and charged to court if found culpable.

The alleged mastermind of the foiled robbery attempt , Chinedu Steven, who is the Taiwanese sales manager, admitted to have invited the policemen for assistance.

Asked why, he stated, “ I just needed some money from him because I am not on salary. I only get commission on whatever I sold. I knew my oga was also with money . So, I told Andrew to just go and threaten him , with a view to getting some money from him. I did not give them an exact amount to collect. The plan was to share whatever they succeeded in getting and share it among ourselves”. At this point, he brought out his inhaler from his pocket, took a sniff and said he had said all he had to say.

On the part of the third suspect, Ikechukwu Nobo, he claimed to be a victim of circumstance as, according to him, “ I was asked to take the policemen from a designated point to the house of the Taiwanese. They did not tell me they were going to rob, I was only informed the policemen were going to threathen him to pay the money he owed. I never suspected what they were going for because they were policemen”

Source : www.vanguardngr.com