By Chizoba Ogbeche
Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have arrested 37 suspected armed robbers, bag-snatchers, and others.
Parading the suspects before journalists at the command headquarters, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the FCT, CP Sadiq Bello, named one of the suspects as Godwin Samson, “who is notorious for robbing motorists around City Gate by using stones to block the road.”
He said police operatives on surveillance patrol along city gate arrested the suspect on October 25, 2017, at about 2300hrs, noting that: “The suspect operates mostly at night from 2100hrs, many people have lost their cash, phones, laptops and other valuables to this desperate criminal.
“Preliminary police investigation reveals that the suspect was an ex-convict who served his six months jail term at Keffi prison for the offence of phone theft.”
According to Bello, investigation is on-going and the suspect and others would be charged to court upon completion of investigation.
He named some of the suspects to included: Joshua Nayelwa, Solomon Yakubu, Moses Marshal Moses, Emmanuel Gambo, Manu Abdullahi, Musilumu Abba, Yahaya Musa, and Shagari Ibrahim.
The police boss said items recovered from the suspects included: seven fire-arms, nine rounds of ammunition, eight stolen cars, six motorcycles, six phones, three big stones, knife, handbags and other items.
Some of the other suspects reportedly pretended to be Task Force officials and dispossessed motorcyclists of their motorcycles.
Speaking to journalists, Samson, who confessed to the crime said: “I started this business two years ago after my wife and baby died in the hospital. Hunger led me into this because things were too tight for me.
“I started with phone theft but I was later arrested and I served six months in jail. It was when I came back from prison that I started the business of blocking the road. I keep it on the road in order for motorists to run into it.”
On why he continued after making some money, Samson said “I continued to do this business because I have not made enough money.”
