last week, 29-year David Chineye said he confessed to his pastor after every operation.
The Imo State-born suspect was among eight suspected members of the gang
arrested by the police. He said the gang’s operation extended from Benin Republic to Mali.
“I am a dedicated church worker. Nobody knew I was an armed robber,” he told
Vanguard’s Crime Guard in an exclusive interview.
He gave the name of his church as Christ Ascension Church, Benin Republic branch.
“Every time I returned from any operation, my conscience would prick me. Thereafter, I
would go to church for confession but would never disclose the exact sin I committed,” he
continued. “My wife didn’t know I was a robber either. This is because I stay in Benin Republic where she is permanently based for two months, before returning to Nigeria, where she believed I was working. I usually visited
Benin Republic when we wanted to rob and would leave after investing my loot. This is
to allow me get hints on the outcome of the operation, in terms of Police investigation,”
the suspect said. Members of his gang reportedly stormed a micro finance bank in Porto Novo, Benin Republic, last November, from where they carted away the equivalent of N100 million.
He said they were planning to expand their
operations to Togo when they were
apprehended by the police.
Explaining how he got into robbery, Chinenye
told CrimeGuard; “It all started after my
apprenticeship in a pharmaceutical store,
back in Owerri, the Imo state capital. My
master refused to pay me off. Rather, he
claimed that the money he ought to have
settled me with was spent on the treatment
of my ailing brother few months back. I left
in anger and worked as a bus conductor until
the engine of the bus got knocked.
“I was idle for some months, during which I
met my wife who was visiting Nigeria for the
first time. I went to Benin Republic with her,
where I met some friends who introduced me
into robbery. I started by breaking into
peoples’ apartments, but it was not lucrative
because at times, I won’t get anything from
the houses”.
The suspect said he decided to return to
Nigeria to find better prospects. He then met
a new gang.
“During one of our meetings, I told my
members that we should step up by going to
operate in Benin Republic, since their Police
were not as effective as ours. The first
operation was in a filling station in Benin
Republic. It took me two days to survey the
place before I invited members of the gang.
“At the end of the operation, we lodged in a
hotel there for two days, shared the loot
before others left,while I stayed back. Three
weeks later, as I was driving around Porto
Novo, I saw a micro-finance bank. I studied
the terrain that day and came back the next
day to continue. I observed that policemen
were not stationed there and that only
unarmed private guards were there.
“Quickly, I came to Nigeria to inform my
members and left back for Benin Republic.
Three days later, we struck at the bank and
made away with N100 million equivalent.
“During operation, we don’t use our real
names. For instance, my operational name is
Ishola. We have names like Mensah, Koffi,
Messiah, master, etc. This is to give our
victims the impression that we were from
Benin Republic,” he said.
He described joining a robbery gang as the
biggest mistake of his life. He also regretted
not listening to his wife who had a
premonition before he was arrested.
“Three days before I was nabbed, she told
me she dreamed that I was arrested
alongside other people for robbery and that I
was killed in the process. Since then, she has
been fasting and praying against sudden
death. But I assured her all was well and
that I was not into any dirty deal. If I had
known I would have returned to Benin
Republic , instead of remaining here in
Nigeria.”
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