Fresh facts have emerged over the circumstances in which a robbery gang carted away about N10 million from the Akowonjo, Lagos branch of a first generation bank on April 4, 2011.
The revelations followed the arrest of a security guard with the bank, who was accused of conniving with suspected armed robbers to kill his colleague before carrying out the robbery operation.
Freeman Gambo had gone into hiding after the gang tied his colleague and killed him before carrying out the operation.
But following his arrest by operatives of the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command, he has alleged that one Atoki, a marketing officer with the bank, had told the robbers that they would have to kill Ogundipe Sunday to avoid being arrested by SARS operatives.
Narrating his role in the robbery operation which occurred around 3 am on the fateful day, the 33-year-old indigene of Sanga Local Government Area, Kaduna State, said: “I am single but I have three girlfriends. I reside at No. 11 Gbadamasi Street, Igando, Lagos. I worked as a security operative at the bank that was robbed on April 4, 2011 at Akowonjo, Egbeda area of Lagos.
“We were six in the gang, namely Atoki (29); the bank’s retail marketer; Sgt. Onyeka Eboma attached to Mobile Squadron 20, Oduduwa, GRA, Ikeja; Corporal Victor Folorunsho also of MOPOL 20 (35); 38-year-old welder, Gabriel Sunday; commercial driver, Ezekiel Omoloye (32) and myself.
“It took us two weeks to plan the operation. It was Atoki who mooted the idea that we should rob the bank, because he was one of the marketing officers of the bank and he knew that there was was more than N10 million cash in the bank’s vault.
“He assigned the welding aspect of the job to Victor because he could melt any iron with his instrument to enable us get to where the money was. He is also very experienced in breaking padlocks. His instrument can melt even security doors.
“He assigned the driving job to Ezekiel because of his expertise in handling the steering of any vehicle and his ability to escape fast when there is opposition from the police or vigilance groups who at times poke nose into our business.
“Atoki himself took charge of the bank’s environment, like knowing where the CCTV and the alarm system were installed and how to put them off. He also knew the right time to strike successfully.
“When he suggested that Ogundipe Sunday, the security man on duty, should be killed by strangling him to death, we decided to use a rope to strangle him to death. They advised that I should not come to work to avoid having to explain how Ogundipe was killed.
“Therefore, the week we decided to carry out the operation, I stayed at home and was communicating with them on the phone. I helped them to load the gas cylinder and secure the sledge hammers, cutter and other instruments used in the operation.
“A police corporal attached to Mobile Force Squadron 20, Ikeja, Corporal Folorunsho, was assigned the duty of being on guard in the bank to ward off intruders and disarm the security man in the bank.
“MOPOL 20 Sergeant Onyeka Eboma was in charge of the operation. He held an AK 47 riffle because he is quite experienced in shooting and could withstand the police if they came to attack them. He was also assigned the duty of ascertaining how battle-ready the police were by visiting their station beside the bank and the police squad on patrol to know how to face them if they came to attack them.
“On that very day, I stayed in my house, waiting for them to come back. Already, they had told me that my own share would be N400,000, no matter how much they got from the bank.
“When they got to the bank, they tied Ogundipe’s hands, legs and mouth and covered his eyes with a cloth. They then used a tape to tie his neck until he died.
“Unfortunately, they did not come to see me at my house where we agreed to share the loot. The following day, I was at Extra Global Securities Ltd, Ikeja to report what happened at the bank and that I did go to work that day.
“As I was explaining to them, I was called to come to the bank. It was Fountain Guards that posted me to the bank we robbed last year. I told them that I had left Fountain Guards and that I did not want to work at the bank again because of how my colleague was killed.
But they said I should come for a little discussion after which I could go back.
“As soon as I came, I was arrested and taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department where I wrote a statement and was later detained.
I told the police that I did not know anything about the bank robbery and that I was down with typhoid fever and could not go to work.
“I was detained at the SCID Panti for more than one month before my people contacted a lawyer and I was granted bail.
“When I was granted bail, I started going to the Redeemed Christian Church of God at Igando, Lagos, where I became ‘born again’. The pastor asked me to give my life to Christ and ask God for forgiveness for all my sins, no matter how dirty they were and the Lord would wash them away.
“When I started praying, I asked God to forgive me for being part of the bank robbery in which Ogundipe was killed. At a point, I started suspecting that people might have known that I was involved.
“I was troubled because I could not contact any of our members for my own share of the money. Before Eboma stopped answering my calls, he gave me N5,000 to travel to Kaduna where he promised to see me and give me my N400,000.
“Atoki threatened to kill me when I called him on the phone to give me my own share of the money or I would expose them to the police. For fear of being arrested again, I started staying indoors. I stopped working and life became horrible as I had no money to feed.
“It was when SARS took over the matter following the arrest of Sergeant Eboma at Ipaja that I knew that I was no longer safe. I tried to relocate to Ogun State but Commander SP Abba Kyari had cordoned off every route I intended to escape through. Before I knew it, I saw him ordering his men to handcuff me.
“When I asked them about Atoki, Eboma, Ezekiel, Gabriel and Victor, they said the first four were cooling their heels at the Kirikiri Maximum prison. I thought they had been killed. I then knew that I would not be killed.
“They obtained a statement from me again and detained me together with confirmed armed robbers. They told me that I would soon be charged to court if I did not do anything funny, like trying to escape.
There, I saw other armed robbery suspects who were waiting to be taken to court, some of whose charges had been prepared.
“One day, an evangelist came to our cell and ministered to us. He gave each of us a Holy Bible for daily prayers.
“The investigating police officer also showed me the robbery instruments they recovered, including the Sergeant’s AK47 riffle, and that the sum looted was over N10 million.
They recovered a pistol also. They said Victor was still at large and that he sent a text message to his squadron to tell them where he kept his own riffle. But I told SARS that I did not know where Victor ran to.
“My prayer now is that God should come and save me. I am happy that I am alive and the other people arrested before me were charged with conspiracy, armed robbery and murder. My freedom now depends on God, whom I have asked for forgiveness.”
Gambo also revealed what some of the gang members did with their shares of the money: “Sergeant Eboma built a fish pond in Ikorodu. Ezekiel bought a bus.
Gabriel bought a Jeep. Victor bought a BMW car, while the bank official went into property investment.”
He also revealed that the gang had planned to rob three banks in Lagos before December 2011.
The Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Samuel Jinadu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the arrest of the suspects was made possible by the fact that the Commissioner of Police, Yakubu Alkali, is “a practical crime fighter and a result-oriented officer.”
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