‘My Oracle Warned Us’ —Robbery Suspect

By Jide Osokoya

A 37-year-old herbalist, Monsuru Alimi, is now gnashing his teeth in a police cell, regretting refusing to heed the warning of his oracle not to perpetrate crime.

The suspect, who claimed to be an Ifa priest, was arrested along with two others for armed robbery at Ijegun in the Alimosho Local Government Area yesterday.

He said the oracle warned him that trouble was looming for him and his gang if he persisted in criminal activities.

Confessing

•L-R: The robbery susptects, Prince Ubah, Ugochukwu Gabriel and the herbalist, Monsuru Alimi. Photo: Olatunji Obasa.

to policemen at the Area ‘G’ Police Divisional Headquarters, Ogba, shortly after they were nabbed and handed over by policemen from Ijegun Police Station, Monsuru admitted that greed and selfishness landed him in trouble.

The three robbery suspects Ugochukwu Gabriel, 21, of 39, Alhaji Suleiman Street Ijegun; Prince Uba and Monsuru Alimi of 1, Alhaji Monsuru Street, Ijegun, were arrested after allegedly breaking into a shop owned by Mallam Seidu Amodu at gunpoint around 2 a.m. yesterday.

According to sources at Area ‘G’ where they are being detained for further investigation by the anti-robbery team ‘E’ led by Corporal Emmanuel Orobiyi, the gang must have been operating for a long time.

This is because in their earlier confessions to the police at Ijegun, one of the suspects, Ugochukwu, was said to have explained how the herbalist, Monsuru, had led them to an operation in Mushin.

“It was Nuru that introduced me to this business (robbery). I was selling Tokunbo handsets and undertaking phone repairs when I met Monsuru who was then living at Mushin through Nuru.

“Mosuru introduced us to the Mushin Operation where we robbed an Igbo Man who sells hot drinks,” Ugochukwu said.

On how they came about the locally made pistol found on them, Ugochukwu and Monsuru traded blames.

They accused each other of being the owner of the firearm.

While Monsuru claimed that he helped Ugochukwu to retrieve the said gun from Nuru, Ugochukwu denied knowing anything about the gun, adding that the operation in the Mallam’s shop was carried out with scissors and not gun.

He said he was surprised when the gun was retrieved from Monsuru.

The suspects through their confessions were able to expose the fact that they belong to a secret cult known as Eye Confraternity, and that they were introduced for “Initiation and blending” by Nuru, the cult leader cum gang leader.

Nuru was introduced to them by Monsuru.

In his own confession, Prince Uba said that was the first time he would operate with them, and that it was Ugochukwu who invited him for the operation in the Mallam’s shop which they carried out successfully, and the loot taken to Monsuru’s house for sharing.

He said he did not know how the police were alerted and they were rounded-up with the loot and gun recovered from them.

Prince claimed to be an Okrika (second-hand) clothes hawker at Ikotun bus-stop before his misadventure into robbery.

The suspects who are being investigated by police constable Kayode Olusegun owned up to the robbery carried out in the Mallam’s shop which is situated in the same building where Ugochukwu lives. Ugochukwu said accommodation problem, as a result of the quit notice he received from his landlady, made him to participate in robbery.

Monsuru, who always assured his gang members that they could never be arrested because of his vast knowledge in juju, was intermittently saying: “Ha! Ifa warned me O! Ifa told me that there was no way in the operation, but greed pushed me into this mess.”

The victim, Mallam Amodu from Niger Republic, was speechless. He was only begging the police to ensure that his goods were returned, since that was his only source of livelihood.

Mr. Mobolaji Odesanya, an assistant commissioner of police and commander, Area ‘G’, told P.M.News that the arrest of robbers has become a routine for his command, saying: “It’s our duty and assignment to apprehend offenders.”