TWO members of a robbery gang who trail bank customers with huge cash withdrawal and snatch the money at gunpoint, have been arrested by the Oyo State Police Command. The names of the arrested suspects are Ebere Akanya (43) and Akpan Eyinnaya (46).

Information gathered revealed that both suspects were based in the Southern part of Nigeria and used to come to Oyo State for robbery operation.

Disclosing the arrest to Crime Reports recently, the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Leye Oyebade, said that one Ambali Lawal was on his way home after withdrawing N500,000 from a bank at Iwo Road, Ibadan when he was trailed by the suspects operating on a motorbike.

"The man was blocked at Olubodun Street, Academy, Iwo Road, Ibadan and the armed hoodlums fired gunshots to subdue him. But the man raised the alarm and attracted a police patrol team from Alakia-Adelubi Division which was passing by.

"The suspects were arrested and exhibits recovered from them include an English Beretta pistol, three live ammunition, some expended shells of 9mm ammunition and a Honda motorcycle with registration number NRK 475 QC which was suspected to have been stolen," the police commissioner stated further.

Crime Reports learnt that the two suspects attempted to escape from the police after their arrest, as they jumped off the back of the patrol van which was conveying them. They were however re-arrested immediately.

In an interview with Crime Reports, the suspects confessed that they operated with two other suspects, who go by the appellation - Speedo and Fireburn. Both are however at large.

According to Ebere, "I live in Imo State in my town, Nkwerre, but my mother is a Ghanaian. I was selling fairly-used clothes in Lagos State before I moved back to my town. I started robbery in Lagos State. I was introduced to it by one Oba, but he is dead. Oba asked me to come to Ibadan, saying that I would be the one carrying another gang member called Speedo around the town on robbery operation. Speedo was also based in Port Harcourt.

"Initially, we used to snatch bag in Lagos. We used to operate very early in the morning. Speedo later brought me to Ibadan for us to be trailing bank customers who withdraw large sum of money. I used to lodge in a hotel at Mokola area for the number of days that we would operate. I would then return to Nkwerre for a break after operations. Oba, Speedo and I used to work together.

"After Oba's death in an accident, Speedo got Akpan Eyinnaya a.k.a Eze. This is Akpan's first operation with the gang. Our method of operation was that I would ride a bike with another member and park on a side street close to our targeted bank. It was Speedo who bought the bike. Speedo would enter a bank and give information to the person with me about a bank customer with a huge cash withdrawal. The gang member would walk to the bank to properly identify our target. He would call me and I would go and pick him.

"We would trail our victim to a lonely place where we would draw out our gun and collect the cash at gunpoint. We have operated about six times since January this year. We have snatched between N250,000 and N700,000.

We went to operate at Iwo Road during our last operation. Speedo entered a bank and later called Akpan. He asked us to follow a man in a Honda car. We trailed him to mechanic workshop and a Akpan disembarked from the bike, pointed a gun at our target and asked him to surrender the money he just withdrew. The man refused to give in to Akpan. Akpan fired a shot at the man and he started shouting. I ran away and left Akpan.

I was later arrested. Speedo was able to escape because he was usually on a bike alone. I didn't know how Akpan got the gun we used. I attempted to escape after arrest because I was afraid of going to jail. My mother did not know I was into robbery.

"I can't calculate how much I have made from the crime because I used to buy things with it. I don't own a house. I live in my mother's house in Nkwerre. My wife has left me but we have four children who are staying with her."

Akpan, who confessed his involvement in oil bunkering before he joined a robbery gang, said: "I am from Okrika-Obuh, a boundary town between Akwa-Ibom and Abia State. I live in Port Harcourt. I was into trading and later went into fishing. Speedo introduced me to oil bunkering. The bunkerers would bring diesel to us at Ujike Waterside and we would sell.

"Many people were later stopped from the business. One day, Speedo told me that he would take me to Ibadan to go and work. He introduced me to a guy whose name he gave as Fireburn. The guy actually has burns all over his body. On Sunday, October 4, he called me.

"He gave me direction to Ibadan and we met at a popular club at Agodi GRA. He briefed me on the job we would do the following day, which he described as bank tracing, and gave me the number of Ebere whose name Speedo gave as Ghana. He also asked me to assume the name 'Eze'.

"On Monday, he asked us to go to Iwo Road. He asked me to stand beside a popular mosque, telling me that he would call me after sighting a potential victim. Shortly after, he called me and said he had got someone, warning me not to mess up his plan.

"We followed a blue Honda car to a mechanic village. Speedo asked us to follow him while he also instructed me to use the gun he gave me, disclosing that he had already corked the gun and it had no safety catch. As I got to our target, I asked him for the cash he withdrew from the bank and he started questioning me. I shot on the ground to scare him away but the man did not run. He started shouting thief! thief!! I also continued to fire into the air to escape but the man continued shouting.

"Before I could turn, Ebere had escaped with the bike. I ran, but police pursued and arrested me."