An arrested armed robbery suspect who was arrested by the police in the Gbagada area of Lagos State has confessed that he has been involved in armed robbery since he was 13 years old and does not know any other job apart from armed robbery.
The 24-year-old gangster, Pelumi Idowu, was arrested after his gang embarked on a house to house raid, and has admitted that he does not know any other trade apart from crime.
Idowu was paraded by the police at the Area ‘H’ Police Division in Ogudu where he narrated how he went into crime as a mere child and since then, has been in the underworld till he met his waterloo when his gang decided to use the lockdown opportunity to rob and terrorize residents of the state.
“I have been an armed robber since I was 13-years-old and I do not know any other thing apart from crime,” Idowu began when he was paraded.
Continuing, he said:
“I was in Junior Secondary School 2 (JSS 11) at Ojota Grammar School when one of the senior boys in our area who used to send me on errands took me one night to a shop along Oregun road and said I should stand watch while he and his gang members broke into the shop.
This egbon who is late now, was very nice to me and often gave me money whenever he sent me on an errand.
He was one of the guys we looked up to as he always had money to throw around. He always wore nice clothes and all the young boys in the area aspired to be like him even though we did not know how he made his money.
But he was very nice to us and whenever we did small stuff for him, he would give us some money or buy things for us.
So when he called me that night and said he had a job for me and that he would give me good money, I did not hesitate though I did not know what the job was.
The job turned out that I was to stand in front of the shop and lookout for any police or security officer while they were operating and in the event of such an intruder, I was to whistle a warning to them.
As it turned out, no suspicious person or security operative came around for the duration of the operation and at the end of the day, the egbon gave me the sum of N5,000 which, to me, was very good money.
I used the money to buy some clothes and shoes and when my parents asked me how I got the money to buy the things, I simply told them that I did something for the big brother and he gave me the money and that was the end of it.
A week later, the guy called me again and said he had another job for me and I was too glad to go along with him and his gang and that was how my journey into the world of crime began.
Gradually, I lost interest in school and began to skip school without my parents knowing about it. I would leave home dressed in my school uniform but with other clothes inside my school bag and when I was out of sight, I would go and meet the guy and members of his gang at the Ojota New Garage where they would be drinking and smoking all day.
They introduced me to smoking cigarettes and marijuana as well as drinking illicit gin popularly called ogogoro of paraga. As young as I was then, I quickly established myself as a favourite of my mentor and his gang members and they always took me on their numerous operations.
I knew they were into armed robbery but the fact that I was considered as one of the gang was irresistible. Many young boys my age were envious of me because I always had money and new clothes.
School was now a taboo for me and when my parents found out that I was no longer going to school, they made life difficult for me and I had to run away from home and went to live with my mentor who was more than happy to have me around him.
I was just 14 when the gang taught me how to use a gun and to impress the gang, I became very proficient in using the weapon. I was so good that within a short while, they allowed me to join them on operations.
When my mentor was killed some years ago in a shootout with the police, I automatically became the leader of the gang though I was not up to 19 then.
I have led the gang all these years and we have embarked on so many operations in different parts of Lagos and Ogun State.
I became a member of the 1 Million Boys gang last year and we have been operating in the Ojota axis of the state since then.
Before I joined them, I was a member of the Eiye Confraternity and a senior member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) where I was making good money but when the government declared the lockdown and our operations were curtailed, I could not make the kind of money I was used to.
And that was why we decided to be robbing people in Ojota, Ogudu, Ori Oke, Iyana Oworo, Gbagada, Ketu and other nearby communities.
I was arrested during an operation in Gbagada and only God saved my life as the boys wanted to burn me alive if not for the police that rescued me.
I know I have been a bad boy and I am willing to repent if the police and the government can have mercy on me. I want to apologize to my parents and my wife for bringing shame to them and I promise never to go back to crime if I can get out of this.”
