Touch Not My Annointed: 2 Robbers Arrested in Lagos After Attacking Christian Cleric in Ogun

Matilda Omonaiye/

During the day, the pair of Gbemi Ogunleye and Ini Effiong engages in what appeared to be perfectly legitimate businesses.

While Ogunleye sells fairly used clothes in the popular Ijora market, Effiong hawks gala (a common brand of sausage) at Oshodi, in Lagos.

But once it is nightfall, the two partners in crime transform into daredevil armed robbers who break into houses and shops to dispossess occupants of their valuables.

The two have allegedly been terrorising residents of Ibafo town, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, for some time now.

They, however, ran out of luck when they were arrested at Oshodi by officers of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos police command after allegedly robbing the home of a Christian cleric in Ibafo, Ogun State.

Also arrested was their alleged criminal receiver, identified as Chinedu Onyema, after he offered policemen N30,000 bribe to secure the suspects’ release.

A statement by the RRS yesterday says that the two suspects were arrested on Wednesday in Oshodi while returning from robbing the home of the unidentified cleric.

Read the statement by the RRS below:

Two interstate robbers who have been breaking into homes and boutiques in Lagos and Ogun State and dispossessing residents of their belongings were on Wednesday arrested by the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad in Oshodi after another successful outing.

The robbers, Gbemi Ogunleye, 45, a fairly used cloth seller in Ijora and Ini Effiong, 32, a roadside Gala hawker in Oshodi were arrested in early Wednesday morning after an all-night robbery at the resident of one church cleric in Ibafo, Ogun State.

The suspects, in their confessions, stated that they break into homes and boutiques in Ibafo at midnight, cart away clothes, mobile phones and electronics.

They added that during the day, they sell the electronic and phones as well as clothes before returning to their respective businesses in Ijora and Oshodi, Lagos.

Ogunleye stated that apart from the fairly used clothes popularly known as ‘Okrika’, which he sells in Ijora, he also sells clothes and shoes taken from their victims at night.

He maintained that they target boutiques and surveyed the environment days before breaking into them at night.

Effiong in his confession to the police disclosed that although he hawks snacks in traffic, he teamed up with Ogunleye to rob at night. 

He explained that he also robs in traffic at night, adding that he has snatched many mobile phones in traffic in Oshodi Oke, Bolade and PWD while hawking snacks.

The two suspects who couldn’t give the specific figure of houses and boutiques they have broken into confessed that their operations have been more restricted to Ibafo and Mowe because they feared they would be arrested if they attempted to rob in Lagos.

Ogunleye noted that he met Effiong in February 2019 in Oke – Koto, Agege. He stated that their discussions on how to survive the nation’s economic realities made them team-up.

He further maintained that before he met his colleague, he had been operating alone limiting himself to Ibafo and Mowe.

“I don’t rob or burgle houses and boutiques every day. Whenever I have money, I buy ‘Okrika’ in Kotangoa market and sell them in Ijora, Lagos,”.

The suspects disclosed that whenever they want to rob, they would converge in Kara, Ogun State before proceeding to Ibafo around 11:00 p.m to hang around the area before striking their target at about 1:00 a.m.

On their last operation in Ibafo, he said, “We hid in the bush till 2:00 a.m before we could gain entrance into the house. We used crossbar to shift the burglar-proof from where we entered. We were with the occupants of the house till 5:00 a.m.
We collected 5 mobile phones, N4, 000 and a motorcycle. We were in Oshodi when RRS bike riders intercepted and arrested us in the morning”.

Already, about three of their victims have identified the suspects at RRS headquarters.

One of them, a teenager revealed that the suspects spent more than 5 hours with her and her younger sister while their parents were away. 

She added that they parked all her mother’s jewellery, clothes and two flat screens before escaping.

Also arrested with the suspects was one Chinedu Onyema, their receiver. He came to Oshodi with N30,000 trying to bribe the police to release the suspects.

Recovered from the suspects were seven mobile phones, N4000 and a motorcycle with the registration number GGE 962 QN.

Onyema has confessed being their receiver and that he bought mobile phones and electronics from the suspects.

Commenting on the development, the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, stated that there would be no hiding place for criminals in the metropolis.

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