•I robbed to bribe my lecturer
•I slept with my victim before arrest
•My hands are clean — Pastor
The Edo state Police Command, last Wednesday,
paraded three notorious burglars among them an
assistant Pastor in one of the new generation
churches, Osazee Igbinigie, who specialized in
cyber crime. Others are 28 -year-old Samson
Ogbesosa, an indigene of Edo state who robbed a
girl of her handset and was arrested after he slept
with his victim.
One of the burglars, Victor Ngwoka, an indigene of
Imo State, is a Diploma Student at the Nnamdi
Azikiwe University. He was arrested after he
attacked a boutique along Akenzua road Benin
City. Victor escaped death through the whiskers as
he was about to be burnt alive by angry mob
before the police came to his rescue.
During an interview, the suspected burglars, Victor
and Samson, confessed their sins and prayed for
forgiveness, but Pastor Igbinigie who had earlier
confessed to the crime suddenly changed his
statement during this interview, denying being
involved in cybercrime.
How I robbed the boutique
In his own account, Victor who invaded a boutique
along Akenzua road with a hammer, said :”I went
to a boutique to steal cloths before the people
around caught me and that was around 7:30pm.
They started beating me. In fact, I was almost
burnt alive before the police came and they handed
me over to the police. I am a student at the
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
I actually came to Benin to see a friend and a taxi
driver carried me around that shop at Akenzua.
That was the day I saw the shop and I went back
there the next day to rob. I am a 200 level diploma
student and my GP is not good enough in school
because this is my final year in Diploma. So, I am
actually looking for money to use to bribe our
coordinator in school so that he will help upgrade
my GP.
My escapade at Onitsha
“ There was a time I stole some cloths in Onitsha,
that was last year but I did not succeed just like
the one I did now that I was arrested. This time
around while I was about operating, people around
the shop saw the light of a touch inside and that
was how they raised alarm. I went there with a
hammer and chisel. What I did was to remove the
ceiling of the roof so that I can pack some of the
cloths to go and sale because I need money to go
and give our coordinator in school. I am not
staying with my parents, my uncle is paying my
school fees.
Why I needed money
“I don’t want the two years I spent as a Diploma
student to be a waste and that was why I was
really desperate for money. Unfortunately, I don’t
have anybody that can help me. This was the
only solution for me. I am begging the
government to forgive me, I will change for the
better. I will never try this again even if it means
me leaving the school, I will leave it and find
something else to do rather than endangering my
life. In fact, I thank the police for saving my life if
not the people would have killed me.
Romance and set-up
The third suspect, Ogbesosa, who stole a hand set
from a girl told Crime Alert : “ I am here because I
stole a handset through a window three weeks
ago. I was arrested by the owner of the handset.
When I called the owner of the hand set, she
picked the call and came to see me. We slept
together but it was the next day that the police
came to arrest me. I did not know she set me up.
This is my first time. I am a bricklayer. I am
feeling bad now. I am married but she is not
around. I feel so ashamed of myself and I am
begging the government to forgive me, I will not do
this again. I really don’t know what came over
me.”
Pastor’s account
In his own account, Pastor Igbinigie, who claimed
to be a graduate of Abjuratory Technology at
UNIBEN, said “ On Thursday last week, I went to
the bank because my brother told me he sent me
N5,000. So, when I slot my card into the machine,
the ATM told me that my card had expired. So, I
went into the bank premises to complain, then they
told me that they had the report that my account
was used to perpetrate fraud, that I should wait. I
sat down waiting before I saw the policemen who
came to arrest me and took me to Evbotubu Police
station.
I was shocked because that account was opened
since 2004 when I was teaching in a private
school. I feel embarrassed now because I don’t
know who did that to me. They said a prominent
woman of God used it and I have never received
any fraudulent money from it. I work with my
brother at Ekenwa road. I know that sometimes,
people call me to send money into my account for
one issue or the other, that is why I am just
confused now but I leave everything to God.”
Police reacts
The Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP
Abiodun Osifo Stanley, who paraded the suspects
on behalf of the state Commissioner of Police,
Chris Ezike, explained how the suspectes were
arrested, asserting that they will be charged to
court after investigations are completed.
His words: “ One Osaze Igbinigie was arrested in a
popular bank in Benin in an attempt to withdraw
money with his ATM. Unknown to him, the police
has put a red alert on that account because the
account was opened with the intention to defraud
unsuspecting victims and that is his stock in trade
and he has done this over a year now. We
monitored him and he was arrested eventually. He
confessed to the crime, that he was lured into it by
a friend who is now abroad.
Their operational method
“What they do is to open a fake face book account
with any well to do Nigerian purporting to be the
person. They open an account and money will be
paid in by an unsuspecting victim, thinking that he
was actually transacting business with that known
person. The case is under investigation to unravel
the secret behind the crime and his accomplices
because, it is obvious he is not alone in this
business. He belongs to a syndicate popularly
known as cybercrime.”
Serial burglars
“Then the other two suspects paraded, these are
serial burglars. They are in the habit of moving
from one identified shop to the other. During the
day time, they dress like normal law abiding
citizens, they go to shops to buy things but
unknown to the owners of these shops, they are
on surveillance.
How 1st suspect carried out the operation
In this particular incident, Victor visited a shop in
the afternoon, bought an article and he surveyed
the exit and entrance to the boutique. In the night,
he resurfaced, while the owners of the shop were
trying to close for the day, he hid by the stair case
and he was locked inside the shop. After the
owners left, he broke into the shop, went through
the ceiling where he had hidden his burglary
equipment. But the noise alerted people and they
raised alarm.
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