CYRIACUS IZUEKWE
A 26-year old self-confessed millionaire trader at Alaba International Market in Ojo, Lagos, Ebere Udokwu has confessed that he has actually made a fortune in robbery before he was recently arrested.
Udokwu, who was among the suspected criminals paraded Thursday at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos by the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni, revealed that he had operated as armed robber for eight years before his recent arrest by the operatives of State Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.
Udokwu admitted that he knew that a day like this (his arrest and parade) will come thus he will not say he regretted his decision to join the robbery gang because he was successful while it lasted.
The suspect narrated how he came to Lagos and turned to into a notorious armed robber.
“I attended Oraifite Secondary School in Ekwusigo local government in Anambra State and dropped out because my parents said they no longer have money to sponsor my education. It was then I decided to move to Lagos,” he told our correspondent during his parade.
According to the unrepentant Udokwu, when he came to Lagos and he met some friends who are already notorious armed robbers. He did not hesitated to join them to survive and that’s how he started robbing people at Alaba before moving beyond the area to other parts of Lagos.
He said his initial challenge in the robbery business was how to acquire weapon but that was resolved when he was first arrested and taken to prison where he met other deadly robbers.
He became friends with them and they assisted him to procure a British-made pistol which he started using after leaving the prison.
“When I was in Kirikiri prison, I made friends with some notorious armed robbers who taught me more on criminal operation and gave me contact of where I bought my (first) gun for N50,000,” Udokwu confessed.
On why he did not quit robbery after he had made huge sums of money, Udokwu said it was easy to join robbery but very difficult to come out of it because a criminal will not believe he will run into trouble until such one is arrested.
“Whenever I am broke, I will just pick my British-made pistol and go out to rob. Besides, with the gun, any criminal will feel on top of the world and believe nothing will happen,” he told our correspondent.
Udokwu, who claimed to be married with a child, concluded that he has accepted his fate.
Meanwhile, during the parade, CP Owoseni said the arrest of the suspects was one of the efforts the police was making to get rid of criminal elements in the State.
He said the suspects will be charged to court after the conclusion of their series of investigations.