HOW WE CAME BY GUNS

• Drama as suspects found with arms, ammunition sing discordant tunes

Six suspects said to be terrorising residents of Ajah area of Lagos State and its environs have been singing discordant tunes over how they got the firearms and ammunition allegedly found in their possession by the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team( IRT) that arrested them.

The suspects now in police net are Isiaka Oloko a.k.a Soku, 36; Ilosomi Akeem a.k.a Babalawo, 27; Abib Musa a.k.a Dupe, 20; Afeez Ayide, 25; Owolabi Olabode, 33, and Fatai Raji a.k.a Ajah, 38.

According to the  IRT, the suspects were arrested on  November 7, 2018, while they were in a hotel in Onisan Street, in Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos and would be charged to court for alleged conspiracy and unlawful possession of firearms. Two locally made pistols, one English pistol and ammunition were recovered from the suspects.

All the suspects denied using the guns for armed robbery operations but failed to agree on how they acquired the guns and what they were using them for.  Some of them said they stole the guns to solve their most pressing problems, while others said they bought the guns to  prepare for the  2019 election as political thugs. Some others said they were sent to procure guns by politicians.

One of the suspects, Musa, said:  “I am a welder. I did not have enough money to take my mother to the hospital. It was while I was contemplating how to get money to take my mother to the hospital that this man(pointing at Fatai Raji) called me on the phone and told me that his brother (names withheld) needed a gun for the forthcoming election and was ready to pay N10,000 for a short gun.  I developed interest and decided to steal Isiaka’s gun. I knew that he had a gun as a member the Odua People’s Congress(OPC)  and that he used to keep his gun in his house whenever he came home from vigilante work.

“On November 7, 2018, I went to Isiaka’s house in Gbogije area of Ajah in Lagos  at about  7pm in the evening to steal the gun. I was arrested when I went to collect the money they promised to pay me for providing the gun. Till date, I have not collected a dime and my mother is still sick and has  not been taken to any hospital since my arrest.”

Another member of the group, Ilosomi Akeem, said:  “I have only one gun and but it belongs to my friend Segun who is a professional barber in Igbefo area of Ajah, Lagos.I like to keep gun just for the fun of it. I am not an armed robber. I have never robbed in my life.

“I used to work with Bode Owolabi at the building site. He is a bricklayer, while I am his labour man.

My plan was to look for a buyer and sell it to him. When I got a buyer who wanted to buy my gun for N80,000 he asked me to come to a  hotel to give it to him but when I got there, I was arrested by the police.”

The conflicting accounts continued with the third suspect,  Afeez Ayinde,  saying that he  collected the gun from his OPC friend called Itele.

Read also: Police arrest 4 suspected armed robbers, recover 2 guns

He said: “I was called by Fatai Raji to look for a gun he would buy for N50,000, but he ended up not giving me a dime after giving him the gun. Itele was owing me N40,000 and my plan was to sell the gun and collect my money. This the only reason why I kept the gun. I am not an armed robber.”

Olabode, on his part, said that he is a building contractor and not an armed robber. He said he went to a hotel and was arrested because the police saw him with the suspects.

“There is no type of building plan that I cannot handle. I swear that I am not an armed robber. If I had been an armed robberz  let me be caught and killed. I don’t want to rob because nobody robs in my family.

“I am happily married with three children. I am  very hardworking. I was at  the site working that fateful day when they called me on the phone. When I got to the hotel,  I was arrested because of the gun Akeem was holding. I had earlier warned him against his activities. I told him that if the police should arrest him, he should not mention  my name because I knew nothing about it. Akeem is my boy who works with me at the site as my labour man.”

In a swift reaction to Olabode’s  confession, which indicted him, Raji confessed that   he owned a gun but was only using  it to do vigilante work as an OPC member.

“Do you expect me to do OPC work without gun? Can one fight an armed robber with empty hands? I know that we are not legally allowed to carry guns but we cannot fight armed robbers with empty hands. I am aware that we are not allowed to carry guns but considering the nature of OPC work,  it is reasonable to hold something to fight and defend oneselves,” he said

In his confession, Akeem said: “I have only one gun and it belongs to my friend Segun. They told me to look for a buyer who would buy it for N80,000. I used to work with Owolabi as a labour worker at the building site.

The sixth suspect,  Isiaka,  said: “I don’t even know why I am a suspect in this matter. Musa stole my gun and when he was arrested, he mentioned my name and I was tracked. Musa is my brother and we lived in the same area. I am an OPC member and I use the gun to do vigilante work. I don’t rob with it”.