The
Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command has
apprehended a 30-year-old man believed to have been the mastermind of two
robberies at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja in 2012 and
2013.
The
suspect, Samuel Mayegun (aka Asiwaju) who claimed to be a graduate of Moshood
Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Ogun State, was arrested in the Ikorodu area of
Lagos last Thursday.
PUNCH
Metro had reported in April 2013 that about eight suspects stole
over N400m from bureau de change operators at the airport in 2012 and went for
another robbery the following year and carted away N9m.
The
police were able to arrest most of the suspects after the second robbery but it
was learnt that Mayegun continued to evade arrest from policemen until he was
arrested by policemen while attempting to stage another robbery.
The
suspect, who claimed to have made N45m from the robberies, said he continued to
rob because all his investments had failed.
He
said his only regret was that he did not flee the country when he had the
chance to.
He
said, “My regret is that I did not heed the advice of my friends who told me to
run away from the country because N45m was enough to do good business abroad.
“I
also feel sad that God saved me and gave me the opportunity to escape, but I
messed it up. God really loved me because all our members were rounded up and I
was the only one left, yet I did not use the opportunity to escape.”
The
suspect, who claimed to be married with children, said he continued to rob
because he was constantly losing money from his businesses.
He
said, “I invested some of my share in some businesses: I bought lands and
trucks for transport business. Some of my share was taken from me by some
street urchins who got wind of the robbery and threatened to report me to the
police, so I gave them some money. Unfortunately, my transport business did not
move well and I became broke.
“I
did not want to go back to robbery because all other members had been arrested
by SARS, but because of hunger, I was forced to make one more attempt this
year. I was unlucky that it was in SARS hands that I landed.”
The
suspect said all those who participated in the robbery were given N45m each
except the informants at the airport who received N1m each.
According
to PUNCH Metro, Mayegun was arrested by SARS men led by SP Abba Kyari
while he was staging another robbery with four others identified as Biodun
Adegayo, Ezekiel Anthony, Ibrahim Sado and Femi Osiyelu.
Commissioner
of Police, Umar Manko, while parading the suspects, said they were arrested
based on a tip-off by a credible source.
He
said, “On that fateful day, we received a tip off about 2am that the notorious
armed robber had left his hideout in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, for Ikorodu, Lagos,
where they were planning a mega operation the next day.
“We
recovered one general purpose machine gun, one Ak47 rifle with serial number
533124, two double-barreled locally-made pistols, 10 GPMG and eight AK47
magazines respectively and 32 live cartridges.
“During
interrogation, Mayegun confessed to the robberies at the airport, where a
bureau de change was robbed and millions of naira was carted away, and he
admitted to getting N45m as his share.
“He
had recruited other gang members to continue his nefarious acts because he
thought the police had forgotten him being the only member of the airport
robbery gang that eluded arrest.”
Manko
said the suspect also confessed participating in other robberies in both Lagos
and some South West states and a bank robbery in Kwara State.
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