Bloody Lekki Bank Robbery
Police nab perpetrators in three states Four of the 22 man robbery gang responsible for the bloody First City Monument Bank (FCMB) robbery which left three policemen and two civilians dead on March 12, 2015 have been arrested by officers of the Lagos State Police Comm and. The suspects identified as Duke Odogbo (38); the ga ng leader, Lawrence Kinsley (31), Ebi Tosan (20) and Ikeleyemo Kuete Thomas (30), were arrested in Ikorodu, Delta and On do States respectively.
It would be recalled that a branch of the FCMB loca ted in Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1 was robbed by a gang w ho came through the water way, carting away millions of Nai ra among other valuables. Items recovered from the suspects include a Honda a ccord 2008 model, with Registration number AAA 43B, belon ging to the gang leader; a white blackberry Z10, i-phone five, I30 extended ammunition, and a military face cap. Following the incident, the Lagos State Commissione r of Police had called on heads of the State Criminal Investiga tions Department (SCI), the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Special Anti-Robbery Sq uad (SAS), Marine Police and Mobile Police, to fish out the su spects from their hiding and it indeed paid off.
“ Immediately after the robbery, I gave my words that we were going to round up the perpetrators of this act, and I am happy to tell you that through determination to get to th e root of this matter, we were able to round up four of the suspec ts.” Giving his account, the kingpin, Lawrence Kinsley w ho is married with three children, said t
hey spent about 24 hour mapping out their strategy and that his share of th e 15 million loot was only N500,000. “ I am an Ijaw person from Warri North LGA in Delta S tate. I am into oil bunkering. I was called by two of my frien ds in the creek to go for an oil bunkery operation. I was taken to an Island in IKorodu, where I met about 50 people who were also there for the bunkery business. But later my friends came to meet me that it is no more bunkery; that we will be going t o rob a bank. Since I was desperately in need of money as a famil y man I just gave in. what I was after was that money should com e to my hand at the end of the day. “ Eleven of us in the gang camped at Alangba, an Isla nd in Ajah. We left for the operation at about 4 pm with two bo ats, but one of the boats packed up, so we had to manage one .
The others went ahead of me to clear the way and I was the one who shot the front glass of the bank and went insid e first before the others.” According, he wore an army camouflage trouser with a T-shirt for the operation and on arrival; the manager had d isappeared upon hearing the gun shot. “ There was just 15 million Naira in a sack in one of the strong rooms. After the robbery, we went through the back door and followed the ferry boat. It was even on our way bac k that I saw two of my gang members with riffles. When I asked t hem how they got it, they told me they collected it from th e police. I told them they shouldn’t have collected police gun. We w ent with nine riffles. ” On how the three police officers lost their lives d uring the robbery, he said. “ I did not kill any police officer. I even asked my gang members and they told me while they were cl earing the way, there was no police officer in sight.
They however said they saw a police van packed somewhere not too far from the bank. They thought police officers would be in the van and that was why they shot the van. There were no police off icers in the bank when we arrived. ” On the day of my arrest in Warri, I was walking a nd I noticed a car was trailing me, I stopped in front of one comp ound and a man came out and that was how I was arrested. I was given N500, 000 and I invested it in oil Bunkery business .”
30 year old Ikeleyemo Thomas said he was the ferry rider. Also an Ija man, he told Daily Times he was only called to drive the gang to their destination, that he did not take par t in full operation. “ I am a father of two. Before now, I was into oil bunkering in the Arepo area of Lagos-Ibadan Express way in Ogun State. I did make as much as fifty to eighty t housand Naira from the business. I was called by my elders to carry them for this operation. We were 22 and we went with two boats.
