These four men (pictured above) are part of the armed robbers
that wore military uniforms to rob a bank in Lekki on the 12th of
march, 2015….five people were killed during the robbery (3
policemen and two civilians, including a 15-year fish seller).
They were paraded on Wednesday by Lagos State Police Commissioner. Their names were given as Duke
Odogbo, 38, Lawrence Kingsley, 31, Ebi Tosan, 20, and Ekelemo Kuete, 30.
One of the suspects, Odogbo, gave a graphic explanation of how the bank
robbery took place, and said they planned the deadly operation in 24
hours at Tarkwa Bay. Read his story to newsmen below:
“I was invited by a friend from Warri, Delta
State, to come for bunkering job. But on reaching Lagos, I was told it
was a bank robbery.“I told them I was into bunkering and not robbery.
But because they told me we were going to make much money from it, I
decided to join them.
“On the day of the operation, we left Tarkwa Bay at about 4.30 p.m., in two boats; with 11 persons on each. But one of the boats developed fault on the way. We all entered
the good one.“We got to the bank few minutes after 5p.m. Immediately we
left the canal, some of us went to the road and started firing, thereby
making way for those of us that would go inside. I led the team that
went in.“We were all putting on Army camouflage. I shattered the entrance glass
with bullets and when we got inside, we demanded for the money realized
for that day. The manager told us they did not make much.
“But we broke into one of their strong rooms where we got some money. We
also broke into two ATM boxes, but there was no money in either of
them. We told ourselves that the operation must not exceed 40 minutes.“To my surprise, by the time we were leaving, I discovered that my
colleagues were with seven extra rifles. When I asked, they said they
saw some policemen in a van, concluded they were there for us and shot
at them. I was not the one that shot the policemen. I did not kill
anyone.
“It was when we got to the forest, located in an island in Ikorodu that
we discovered that the amount stolen was N15 million and I got N500,000.
I used my share to boost my bunkering business.”
On his part, Kuete confessed that he drove one of the speed boats, adding that he was given N50,000 at the end of the operation.
Kuete, who resides at Arepo area of Ogun State, said:
“I must confess, I knew that we were going to rob a bank. I am a
bunkerer at Arepo and I make at least N80,000 from each operation.I was
hired to take them to the bank. I remained in the boat with four others,
while the rest left for the bank.“When they came back, we headed straight for our hideout, where our
leaders shared the money according to individual’s involvement. I got
N50,000.”
Recovered from the suspects were a 2008 model Honda Accord car
purchased by one of the suspects from his share of the loot; a white
Blackberry Z10 phone, one Apple i-Phone 5, one military face cap, used
during the operation, and 120 expended ammunition.