Pastor Ibikunle Olanrewaju John,37, is the General Overseer of the Way of Joy
church, located at the Ikotun Egbe area of Lagos State. He is among many
suspected robbery arrested over the robbery of Murtala Mohammed International Airport,
which occurred on March 13, 2013. Two police men where killed and several citizens
injured.
John has a sinking look on his face as he stared at all the swarming
face before him. For some time now, he had been living a double life: that a
robber at and minister of the gospel during the day.
Detective investigate
his involvement in the robbery alleged that he is the armourer to the gang and
has taken part in a lot of robberies with the gang.
He
Confessed without batting an eyelid:”Of course I used to
mount pulpit and preach to the congregation. All I can say right now is that
members of my church should forgive me!
I don’t keep guns for the gang. It’s Asiwaju that used to keep the guns in his
farm.”
Other members of the
gang are Atoba Adeniyi, Ibrahim Abullahi, Kazeem Aderibigbe, Christain Joshua
and Saheed Okunola.
The kingpin identify as
one Paul, was said to have been killed in shootout with policemen at VGC area
of Lekki, Lagos State. Paul was killed with another member of his gang.
The gang of robbery
were also said to be the same bandits that attacked a Bureau DE Change last
year(2012) at the same airport, carting away dollars valued at over N600 in February
2012.
Explaining his role in
the gang, Pastor John said that he used to help them in ‘oath taking.’ He
however insisted that the oath was not to make the robbery successful, but that
nobody should tell the leader of the gang, Paul, that they were about to embark
on the operation at the MMIA.
He said:”I have known Paul
for years now. He used to come and meet me at my church. Initially, I didn’t he
was a robber, but he later confided in me .There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t
run to police and tell them. Paul is a wicked man. The only role I play to make
them take oath on the day they were going for the robbery that nobody should
tell Paul about the robbery.”When they came back from the robbery they gave me
N500,000.”
Ibrahim Adbullahhi, who
said he is an ex-convict, frankly admitted to have been the person who gave the
information to the gang on February 2012, on how the gang could attack the air
port Bureau De Change and make away with
whooping sum of money. The information
was solid when the gang attacked, they went away with $2 million.
He said:”I said the
Bureau De Change operators, wheeling money in wheel borrows. It occurred to me
that they were not even using policemen to guard this money. I told my friend,
Kazeem, what we saw. H e was the one who
arranged for the attack. But I don’t know anything about this year’s robbery at
the airport. After the last year robbery, they gave me N1.5 million, which I
used to open a shop and started selling phone accessories.”
Adekunle Saheed said he
was not a robber, but was forced to join the gang because he walked into his
boss, Esho, planning robbery with his gang. He used to work as one of the
workers on Esho’s farm.
He said: “When I walked
into them, my boss now told me they needed me to do something for them.
I had seen guns and
couldn’t say no. I asked what they wanted me do. They said I would drive them
to the airport .It was Pastor, who brought out something …it was a big gun,
covered with some things and several needles. He said I should swear not to
leak the secret of what I had seen. I took the oath.
“On the robbery day, we
got to the airport by 6pm. I was asked to park at the car park, while pastor
went out to act as the look out. He was watching the road. later I Heard
shootings. It was heavy. I lay on the ground. We escaped and got to Ijebu-ode. they
gave me N5,000”
Saheed Okunnola,
brother to Esho, who was killed in the airport robbery on March 13, 2013,
vehemently denied being a robber. He said he was a tanker driver.According to
him, he did not even know that his brother was a robber.
Okunola said: “Saheed
Adekunle is my brother’s farm manager. He told us that mybrother went out with
a friend and since had not returned. We started looking for him. Saheed later
called me that I should come and pick my brother’s car, which was with him. I
had already collected the space wagon and was at home when policemen came.”
Atoba Adeniyi confesses
that he was to prepare charms for the gangs whenever there were going to be a
robbery operation.
He revealed that he was
with gang last February 2012 when they attacked the international airport. His share
of the loot was N450, 000 and in the robbery operation march 13, 2013, he got
N500, 000.
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