Skillful Criminal: Suspect says he robbed to get money for a football trial in Sweden

An armed robbery suspect  who is cooling his heels in the cells of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, (SARS), of the Lagos State Police Command, Emmanuel Enu, has confessed that he took to  crime to raise money to enable him travel to Sweden for a football trial.

Enu, 25, was nabbed by operatives of the dreaded SARS along with his partner in crime, Stanley Okorie, 20, for allegedly robbing residents, commuters and commercial cyclists, popularly known as Okada, in the Satelite and Ajegunle areas of the state.

Enu who told the police that he is a budding football who wanted to take his trade to Europe, was nabbed  one locally made short gun and a cartridge while his comrade, Okorie was arrested with with a toy gun.

During interrogation, the Boki local government area, Cross River State born Enu, said:

"After I finished secondary school, I started work as a security man at a terminal in Apapa.

I was earning N18,500. When I lost the job in 2014, a friend introduced me to robbery.

His name is Onuora. He also brought the gun.

My father is a retired naval officer. When I was working as a security man, I was saving money to pursue my football career, but when I lost the job, there was nothing.

I have been to the Benin Republic and Togo to play football. I was looking for money to travel to Sweden. That was why I agreed to join Onuora for robbery. I was looking for N300,000 for the journey. I wanted to go for a trial in a football club there.

I belong to a gang which specialised in robbing on motorcycles along Oduduwa Road, Ajegunle.

On the day we were arrested, we took off from around wharf area on a bike. We snatched one man's phone and Onuora said he wanted to ease himself. While he was doing that, two motorcycles trailing us stopped by and chased me.

The gun was in a bag I was holding. Onuora escaped but the motorcyclists who were policemen arrested me with the gun."

On his part, Delta State born Okorie said:
"I needed to use the money to pay for house rent. I have gone for about four operations at Igando and Agbara areas. When we robbed at Igando, I got N13, 000. We also took three phones and N15,000.

We also carried out operation at Agbara and realised N25,000. It was at Lekki that we make the highest amount of N780,000."