A victim of armed robbery, Friday Omotese, has narrated how he was trailed by an attacker after withdrawing money from a bank, shot in his buttocks and the side of his stomach and left in a pool of blood while the armed robber went away with over N2 million he had gone to withdraw for his sister’s business. He said that everything happened in broad daylight at Mokola area of Ibadan, Oyo State.

The attacker, identified as Emeka Ifeanyi, aged 27, was arrested by operatives of Amotekun Corps last Thursday after he allegedly made attempts to snatch phones from innocent passers-by using a motorcycle handled by his accomplice who is currently at large.

The Head of Operations, Amotekun, Oyo Command, Mogaji Kazeem Babalola Akinro, who spoke on the arrest, said that Amotekun had been on the lookout for the suspect for a long time, adding that the command received a call last Thursday that he had been apprehended at Ago Tapa area at Mokola.

“We went there and arrested him. He had been using bike to rob innocent people of their money at gunpoint and others of their phones.

“Many of his victims have come to identify him as their attacker. We have carried out our preliminary investigation and will refer him to the police for further investigation.

Mr Omotese, who gave an account of his experience in the hands of the arrested suspect told the Sunday Tribune: “On June 18, my sister who is operating a Point of Sale (POS) business centre asked me and her daughter to help withdraw money from the bank. I withdrew the money from the bank and we were able to take a bike when I saw this suspect. We were at the Mokola Roundabout. He blocked me and said ‘where is the money?’ The next thing was that he shot me by the side. I held on to the money and backed him in other to run away, but he shot me in my buttocks. The pellets penetrated my bladder and anus. I fell and pretended to be dead. He collected the money and went away. The policemen at Premium Bank came there to ask what happened. We showed them the armed robber as he was fleeing with his accomplice on the motorcycle. The policemen chased after them.

“Other people at the scene did not offer me any help. They only recorded me on their phones as I laid there bleeding and helpless. The armed robber shot my niece, Joy, in her hand and one other person who was fleeing the scene was also hit in the leg. He shot twice.

“I crawled away from the scene in an attempt to get to Alafia Hospital for medical attention. I had lost too much blood at the time. A motorcyclist who almost ran me over stopped. I held his tyre and told him that I was attacked by armed robbers and begged him to carry me to the nearby hospital.”

The robbery survivor gave kudos to Amotekun Corps for the arrest of the suspect. He said: “Everyday, my mother and I would cry whenever she feed me. I would pray ‘God, expose this criminal so that I would not suffer in vain.’ A day before he was arrested, I was crying while eating but my tears fell into the soup. I took the soup with the tears, and the suspect was arrested less than 24 hours after.”

The second victim who is Omotese’s niece, Joy Olaniyi, told her own story: “On June 18, my mother sent me and her elder brother to collect over N2 million for her POS business. My mum has spoken with the bank and the money was packed in a polythene bag for us.

“On our way home, we tried to hail motorcyclists in front of the bank but none of them stopped. So, we moved forward a little bit. Around Mokola Roundabout bridge, the suspect attacked us. It was at about 11 a.m. I didn’t know he was a robber but I was pleading with him. He barked at me to shut up and fired a shot that hit my uncle in his buttocks and the side of his stomach. The attacker asked: ‘where is the money you collected from the bank? I told him we didn’t have money with us. I tried to prevent him from taking the money. Then he said ‘you this girl, you are very stubborn.’ His gunshot hit my hand and he left with the money.

“My uncle was already on the floor writhing in pain and bleeding from the gunshot wounds. I called out for help but no one came. The people who saw us were busy video-recording us. I begged them but they did not offer any help until officials of Oyo State Road Maintenance Authority (OYRTMA) arrived. They stopped a bike, put my uncle on it and took him to the nearest Alafia Hospital.

“Since then, I’ve not been able to pass through that area because of the trauma. My mother spent over N200,000 on blood transfusion for her brother because he had lost so much blood. He was already gasping and would have died if not for the intervention. The doctor at Alafia Hospital advised that he should be transferred to the University College Hospital (UCH). My uncle was taken to the theatre for surgery to remove pellets and my mother spent over N500,000 on that alone.”

She praised the Amotekun Corps who succeeded in arresting the suspect, saying: “Without Amotekun, my uncle and I would not have survived this trauma. The arrest of the suspect was a soothing balm. I felt like tearing the armed robber to pieces when I saw him but I didn’t have the strength.

Another victim, Adeyemi Mustapha Alabi, also said: “I’m a POS operator. I went to UBA Bank at Idi Ape on February 22. I do this every day. I collected N500,000 and came out, unknown to me that I was being followed. Aside from the money I collected, I had other cash with me.

“From there I went to NTA Complex, collected more money and was on my way to board a tricycle when I heard someone behind me shout ‘drop that thing!’ He wore a baseball cap. He shot at my leg and I dropped all the money with me instantly. It was about 3p.m. We were by the roadside. His partner in crime was waiting on a motorcycle. He also covered his face with a cap.

“Sympathisers pursued them but couldn’t catch up with them. I cried for help but it took about 30 minutes before a motorcyclist came to take me to a private hospital but they advised that we should go to UCH. I pleaded with the doctor to help because I had lost much blood and was very weak. He offered to help bandage the leg to stop the blood loss.

“We got to UCH at about 4p.m. and were told to purchase some things, but my family felt that treatment was being delayed so they took me away from there at about 8p.m. I was carried to a traditional doctor who is skilled in extraction of pellets locally. He removed 36 pellets from my leg.

“When I was called and told that a suspect had been arrested, I was asked if I could recognise him and I said yes. I got to Amotekun office, saw the suspect and told the officers that he was the one who shot me.

“I knew the guy. He used to pass in front of my shop and had also used my POS machine to transact business before.

“I appreciate Governor Seyi Makinde for bringing Amotekun to this state. POS operators no longer have rest of mind. I’m even tired of the business because of the fear of armed robbery and attackers.”

Our mode of operation

However, Ifeanyi, the suspect denied that he attacked the victims with a gun, saying he and his accomplice only specialise in snatching the phones of their victims.

“I learnt carpentry but was engaged in trading at Oki area. I also stopped that and joined my wife in her shop to trade. But of recent, I started the operation of ‘speaking’ which is snatching phones,” he said, saying he had only carried out six operations of such since he joined.

“One of us would approach a passer-by, tell him that the colour he was ‘flying’ (wearing) was risky. Fearing that we are cultists, the man would deny being a cultist. We would collect his phone, ask for his password and act as if we wanted to check photos to confirm if he was a cultist or not. We would tell him to go and purchase something and we would leave before his return. I started about a month ago.

“The one I did before my arrest was at Mokola area. While on our bike, we usually went for victims whenever we noticed them holding iPhone 11 or 12 Pro Max. So I went to the guys and asked if they were staying in the environment and why they were flying black, yellow and white colours. They said they were not cultists and made moves to remove items with the colours that they had on, but I told them I had no issue with that.

“I took their phones to confirm, and when I did, I agreed they were not cult members. One of them begged that I should return his phones, promising to transfer some money to me. As I sat on our bike waiting for him, he suddenly dragged me down from the bike.”

He denied attacking the victims that identified him and said he had never used a gun. When asked why phone-snatching victims would surrender to him when he only addressed them verbally, the suspect said that it was his system of operation.

He added: “My gang member’s name is Fela. I don’t know where he lives but I learnt he used to stay at Oja Oba area in Ibadan. (Sunday Tribune)