THE leader of a three-man gang of armed robbers operating under Otedola Bridge but recently arrested by the efforts of the Divisional Police Officer of Alausa Police Station and her officers in Lagos State Police Command, Tochukwu Nonso a.k.a Thug Life, has revealed the amount he was making at operations. He said that the least he had been getting before his arrest was N40,000 in a day, while his highest in a day was N110,000.
Nonso and two other suspects, Christopher Chidera a.k.a Sadat and Richard Etim a.k.a Omo Calabar, were arrested when they fell into the hands of the DPO, CSP Tokunbo Abaniwonda, and her officers in a sting operation.
The suspected armed robbers had been operating under Otedola Bridge in Lagos State, attacking motorists and passerby and dispossessing them of their phones, money and other valuables until they met their Waterloo. The plan of the DPO worked out successfully when she acted as a bus passenger in company with her officers who also dressed as civilians.
Sunday Tribune gathered that CSP Abaniwonda, in a decoy, led a team of police officers on April 8 and boarded a commercial bus driven and occupied by the officers.
At about 11pm, the bus ‘developed a fault,’ making the DPO, dressed in mufti, to disembark, making what was presented as frantic calls, while her officers, also dressed in mufti, were pushing the vehicle, until it stopped at the point where armed robbers usually attacked motorists and passersby.
CSP Abaniwonda was not disappointed, as two suspects emerged from the dark, with one Nonso, a.k.a. Thug Life, making a dive for her phone.
As the phone fell, the DPO quickly grabbed the suspect’s leg which she held unto. Nonso reportedly directed the other suspect, to run away with the phone. Seeing other ‘passengers’ approaching, Nonso, desperate to escape, brought out the machete he had and started using it to inflict cuts on the DPO’s back. Thereafter, he ran into a nearby tunnel.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos State Police Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the arrest of the suspect, said: “Upon the receipt of the information, the anti-crime team of the Division moved to the hotel where the ring leader, one Tochuckwu Nonso, 29, alias ‘Thug Life’ in the company of one Chidera Christopher, aged 25, were arrested and immediately brought down to the station for further interrogation.”
A source told Sunday Tribune: “The police in the Division started intelligence gathering, leading to the suspects’ arrest five days later at Lambe area, Akute, Ogun State where they were relaxing and having fun. The phone was also recovered, though it had been formatted to clear everything in it.”
During interrogation, the suspects were said to have confessed to their atrocities, saying that they could not sell the phone immediately when they saw the photo of a female police officer in it.
In an interview, Anambra State-born Nonso narrated how he got involved in the crime: “I stopped schooling after I finished in primary school. I came with my brother to Lagos in 2016. I worked as a security man and also joined a bakery. I also sold sachet water. At first, I stayed with my maternal uncle, but went back to my parents when I was being made to sleep in the corridor because I used to close late from work.
“After almost a year, I told my parents that I wanted to go back to Lagos. They asked me where I would be staying and I told them that I would hang in places to survive. So, I didn’t have a decent accommodation in Lagos. I was staying at Kurata, a small ghetto close to the shrine in Ikeja. I was paying daily between N1,000 and N1,500 for the space I was occupying.
“I was getting money by joining others to do ‘twale’ (form of greeting) to big men who come to a hotel close to Otedola area. We would share the money at the end of the day. I got to know some members of the robbery gangs operating in the area like Omo Benin, Eze, Yellow and Omo Calabar at Kurata ghetto.
“I joined the robbery gang in December 2022. It was Eze who introduced me to the crime. He told me that they also used to collect ‘taku’ from motorists whose vehicles developed faults. However, Eze had been arrested with others by the Rapid Response Squad operatives during one of the gang’s operations.”
How we carried out operations
“I usually lodged in a hotel with my two gang members whenever we wanted to operate. In order not to arouse suspicion on our intended activity, we would leave the hotel in the afternoon. We would hang around Ikeja until almost 7pm when we would proceed to Otedola Bridge.
“After our operation, we would go to the shrine and stay somewhere around it until the following morning when we would return to the hotel.”
Our last operation
“We were under the bridge where we usually stayed when we noticed a commercial bus with passengers inside. The vehicle developed fault and was being pushed. It stopped at the particular place we used to come out from.
“I saw a woman punching the keys of the two phones she held. Only Chidera and I came out for operation that night. Since the people in the bus were many, I knew I couldn’t do much. I came out and moved to snatch one of the phones the woman held but it fell. She also fell but gripped me. Chidera took the phone and ran away but I was still in the woman’s grip. Others aimed at attacking me.
“In desperation, I used the cutlass I had with me to inflict cuts on the woman’s back to loosen her grip so that I could escape. I joined Chidera where he hid in the bush. When I checked the phone, I saw the photo of a woman in police uniform. Immediately, I realised that we attacked a police officer and became afraid.
@That night, police operatives came inside the bush to comb it in search of us, but we were not at the particular place they were searching. After they left, we came out and returned to the shrine.
“I called an Aboki who used to buy stolen phones from us. He bought the woman’s phone, Samsung brand, for N30,000 and another one for N10,000.”
“Five days after, I was picked at Akute close to the hotel where we used to lodge before going for operation. I once tasted skunk but I was not taking it. I only used to take wine, gin and action bitters.
“I can’t count the number of times we have operated. Sometimes, we might go for operation three times in a week, but there were days we would not get any victim.
“We are three in my own gang which I head —Sadat (Chidera), Omo Calabar (Etim) and I. The money we get depended on the types of phones we were able to snatch from our victims. The highest money I got from an operation in a day was N110,000 while the lowest was N20,000, N30,000.”
Chidera, aged 25, also spoke: “I am from Enugu State. I came to Lagos in Sep 2023. My parents are late and I was in my father’s house with my younger sister and cousin. I joined some Benin Republic citizens who came to a site to do POP work in my state. When they headed to Lagos, I also joined them and worked with them at Magodo. We were staying at the site they were working in.
“When they finished with the contract, they returned to their country and I began to look for another job to do. I was engaged in odd jobs but due to the high cost of food and other things, coupled with the irregular labour work, I couldn’t cope. Many times, I would get the job just once in a week.
“I met a guy called James and pleaded with him to help me get jobs to do. He confided in me that aside the labour job he was doing with me, he had a gang operating under Otedola Bridge. He introduced me to Thug Life but James is no longer in Lagos.
“I have gone on operation with the gang four times. I saw that they were snatching phones from people passing, but I didn’t have the nerve to do it. As a result of that, I was being given a pittance after the sale of snatched phones.
“It is true that I was the one who picked the DPO’s phone when it fell, as Thug Life attacked her. I ran away with it while he was struggling with her. I was given N5,000 after the first operation I carried out with the gang, N2,000 the second time after much plea, N7,000 the third time and N5,000 from the DPO’s sold phone.”
Etim, Akwa Ibom-born but popularly called Omo Calabar, aged 27, said: “I joined the armed robbery gang this year. Before joining the gang, I was working for a company as a dispatch rider, but my female biss travelled out of Nigeria after her marriage to a foreigner, so I didn’t have any job again.
“I could no longer pay my house rent at Lagos Island so I had to move to mainland after my wife travelled to her village with our month old baby. I was introduced to the crime by a friend, an Igbo I met at shrine in Ikeja. I begged him to help with a job I could do. I have only been with the gang for a month and few days but I’ve joined in robbery operation about 10 times.
“Before the one involving the DPO, I had left the gang after telling the members that I was no longer interested. It was because of the issue of sharing our loot which was not fair concerning me. So, I did not go with the gang on the last operation.
“The highest amount I got as my share of the robbery proceeds was N40,000 while the lowest was N2,000.”
Commending the female officer, the source said that the DPO proved her gallantry by taking a bold step to halt the incessant operation of the men of the underworld under the bridge. Since the sting operation, Sunday Tribune learnt that no robbery incident from under the bridge had been reported.
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