A member of a three-man armed robbery gang has blamed his involvement in crime on poverty.

The suspect, Ese Ebrorhie, also attributed his gang’s success to the use of ‘motorcycles’ for their get away from robbery scenes.
The gang has been tormenting residents and motorists around Mile 2 and Apapa in Lagos.

Ebrorhie was arrested by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS).

Two members of the gang escaped with a locally-made double barrel gun and a pistol.
“I bought a fairly used motorcycle popularly known as okada which developed small problem and there was nobody to help me, so I joined the gang to raise funds to repair the okada ,” Ebrorhie said, adding: “We operated around 5am and 6am and from 9pm. We rob only commercial buses by pretending to be passengers at bus stop around Mile 2 and Apapa.

“Once inside the bus, the gang leader, Zubby, who is holding one of our guns, will hold the bus driver hostage while we begin to rob and dispossess every passenger of their belongings. After the operation, we disembark and mount our waiting bike moving beside the bus to escape.

“I have gone on three operations with them. The first operation, I was given N8, 000. The second one, I was given N15,000. This is my third operation with the gang. Zubby is the one that collects and sells all the belongings we collect during operations. He is the one who shares the booty to everyone.”

Ebrorhie said most of the victims mistook them for passengers.
He claimed that he knew members of the gang as a car washer but didn’t know they were armed robbers then.

“They invite me to operation whenever they wish. Sometimes, I can be in Berger for two days without seeing them,” he said.

Police Public Relations Officer Kenneth Ofor, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said the suspect would be charged to court.
He urged Lagosians to be security conscious during this Yuletide.

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