LAGOS – A 32-year-old spare parts dealer from Ebonyi State, identified as Ejike Ani, has narrated how he and his alleged accomplices robbed a stranded monarch along Ife highway in Osun State, claiming that poverty and the need to raise money to start a business pushed him into the crime.
The suspect, who said he was single and earned a living selling motorcycle spare parts, made the revelation during questioning following his arrest by Lagos State Police Command over alleged robbery.
According to him, an acquaintance identified as Obinna invited him and others to a location to collect some money, but the situation allegedly escalated into a robbery.
Ejike claimed that the group did not initially use a gun during the operation, alleging that they bought cellotape and used a stick in carrying out their activities.
He, however, narrated that while they were returning from the operation, they encountered a vehicle belonging to a monarch, identified in the interview as King, parked along the road and decided to stop.
The suspect alleged that Obinna collected an item and placed it inside the vehicle they were travelling in.
He further claimed that when they arrived in Lagos, Obinna dropped them off and instructed them to return later, insisting that he did not know that money allegedly connected to the incident was inside the vehicle until the police apprehended him.
The suspect also claimed that the police were tracking Obinna in connection with the incident.
When asked whether it was right to return to robbery and dispossess innocent people of their property, Ejike admitted that the act was wrong but blamed his circumstances on financial hardship.
He said he had returned from prison to discover that his mother could no longer see, adding that his inability to secure assistance or establish a means of livelihood contributed to his desperation.
The suspect also admitted that he had previously been imprisoned, although he claimed that the earlier incident arose from following a friend who allegedly asked him to accompany him to collect a gun said to belong to the friend’s brother, who was in prison.
During the interrogation, Ejike maintained that he did not knowingly participate in an armed robbery during the latest incident.
However, a locally made gun was reportedly recovered from the vehicle, according to references made during the questioning.
He also denied physically assaulting the alleged victim.
Appealing for leniency, the suspect repeatedly insisted that he had not deliberately returned to robbery after serving his previous prison term, maintaining that he was only trying to find money to start a business.
The police said the valuable dispossessed by the monarch worth N50million naira.
