Ali Ihade, gateman to Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s slain aide, Olaitan Oyerinde, is a boastful young man. He boasts before his friends and associates as a lucky gateman to a man of affluence and power.
One of his townsmen, Mohammed Ibrahim Abdullahi, was always listening to the flippant Ihade with rapt attention. At a point, he found the temptation to rob the late Oyerinde irresistible.
In the evening of May 4, Abdullahi and his two comrades-in-crime, Raymond Onajite Origbo and Chikezie Edeh, stormed the late Oyerinde’s 65, Second Ugbor Road, GRA, Benin City home, with the sole intention of robbing him of cash and other valuables.
The suspects laid it all bare yesterday at the headquarters of the State Security Service (SSS) in Abuja where they were paraded before reporters.
Abdullahi (46) told of how they carried out the operation and why the late Oyerinde was shot.
He said: “We never had the intention of killing him. We went there just to rob him and get away. When we got there, he was relaxing in one of the seats in his sitting room with his wife and a baby in another seat.
“We commanded him to lie face down; he obeyed. We then noticed another man in the house who we also ordered to lie face down. Suddenly, the man (Oyerinde) jumped up and he was running towards his room.
“Being a big man, we thought he was going to get his gun. So, I shot him. In truth, I shot him only once. Raymond also shot him.”
Origbo (26) corroborated Abdullahi’s story with a slight variation: “We did not go there to kill him. We only went there to rob. When the man started running towards his room, I shot in the air. I did not shoot at him. It was Abdullahi that shot him. After shooting in the air, I walked back to the sitting room. It was my first operation.”
A third suspect, Chikezie (30) told a similar story: “It was Saidu Yakubu (a.k.a Imam) that introduced me to Abdullahi who led the operation. I don’t know the big man’s gateman. It’s Abdullahi who knows him because they attend the same village meeting together. Before we got to the house, Abdullahi told us to blindfold the gateman so that he would not recognise him and we blindfolded him before we went upstairs. It was Abdullahi and Raymond that shot him. I did not fire any shot. We did not go there to kill him. We only went there to rob. I joined criminal gangs when I was deported from France in 2005 because my travel papers were not complete.”
When asked about Rev David Ugolor’s role as alleged by the police, the leader of the gang, Abdullahi, denied knowing Ugolor. “I don’t know him”, he said. Other members of the gang also denied knowing Ugolor.
According to SSS spokesperson Marilyn Ogar, four Blackberry phones; one I-pad; two Galaxy Pads; One laptop; and an unspecified sum of money belonging to Mr. Adeyinka Oletubo, a brother in-law to Oyerinde who was with the family at the time of the robbery, were stolen, allegedly by the suspects.
The SSS added that the stolen items were bought from the robbery suspects by three other suspects who specialise in buying stolen goods. The three buyers were also paraded. They are 42-year-old Saidu Yakubu (a.k.a Imam); Sani Abdullahi Abubakar (35), and Hassan Bashiru, whose age was not stated.
Yakubu admitted knowing members of the gang and confessed that he was a regular buyer of stolen items from the suspects. He admitted that he actually introduced Chikezie Edeh to the leader of the robbery gang.
Sani Abdullahi Abubakar bought three of the blackberry smart phones and one Nokia C5 phone stolen from Oyerinde’s home from Raymond Origbo for a N52, 000. He resold the phone at N57, 000, making N5, 000 profit.
Hassan Bashiru confessed to buying three blackberry smart phones and the Nokia C5 phone from Sani Abdullahi Abubakar whom he said he had known for five years in the trade.
The three guns allegedly used by the suspects were displayed by the SSS.
| Posted: at | |
AMFAVORED
Vectorcy
scottchris
CHRISETTE
TRENDING GISTS 
Naira Prostrates Further Against Dollar Despite EFCC Raid On Speculators
Ukraine-Russia War! Missile, Drone Attacks Launched On Ukraine’s Energy Grid
VIDEO: Speed Darlington Slams People Comparing Him To Wizkid
Not Less Than 2 People Died, 3 Critically Injured In Gas Explosion That Rocks Shop In Lagos