Two ‘One Chance’ robbers, Chuckwudi
Ezeudo and Wilfred Ukpo have both been
sentenced to seven years imprisonment
each, after they both confessed and pleaded
guilty to the charge of ‘conspiracy to steal.
The 2 convicts were arrested after they
robbed an innocent passenger, Uzor Philip
of his two bags, which contained valuables,
and a cell phone.
According to Vanguard,Uzor Philip had
boarded a bus going from Oshodi to PWD
area of Lagos at about 6pm, carrying two
bags which contained valuables. Being the
rush hour, the area was crowded with
several people who wanted to go home,
when a pick and drop bus, with number
plate EPE 165 XS, approached and stopped.
Philip boarded the bus and sat behind the
driver but was persuaded to by the driver to
seat in the front seat with another
‘apssenger’.
When they got to Ladipo, the bus conductor
announced that the front door was faulty
and that he needed to quickly ‘fix’ the
problem.
As soon as the driver slowed down, the ‘co-
passenger’ pushed Philip out of the moving
bus, which made it unable for him to
retrieve his his two bags and cell phone
(Techno W2). The bus immediately made a
u-turn and headed back to Oshodi.
When Philip realized that he was a victim of
‘one-chance’ he raised the alarm which
attracted members of the Task Force who
launched a chase after the bus.
During the chase, the Task Force members
realized that the bus was far ahead of them
and almost gave up the chase, when they
sighted a patrol van of the Lagos State Task
Force returning from an operation. They
informed the Task Force team of what was
going on and those ones went after the bus
and caught up with it around Mile 2.
One of the suspects took to his heels while
the driver and his conductor were
apprehended and the bus impounded by the
Task Force. 50 cell phones and other
valuables were recovered from the bus. On
switching on some of the cell phones calls
began to come in from their owners and the
Task Force requested their contacts so they
could return the phones to their rightful
owners after proper identification.
Speaking with Sunday Vanguard , one of the
victims, whose mobile phone (Alcatel Pop
Star 5) had been snatched, Ajimati Adeyemi,
33, said he joined the bus with other
passengers along Mile 2 when the conductor
and one other person, dressed in ‘black
suit’, suddenly stood up and collected all
their cell phones and wallets before they
were forced down at different bus-stops
before Mile 2.
He said:
“I was surprised when I called my
mobile line and I was told to come to
Lagos State Task Force at Bolade,
Oshodi where it was returned to me
along with others.”
A female victim, Yewande Adeboye, who
claimed to have been seriously injured after
she was pushed off by the same bus
conductor, said she was sexually assaulted
and nearly raped before her mobile phone
was snatched at Rainbow Bus-stop along
Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Lagos by the
same crew.
The Chairman of the Task Force, SP
Olayinka Egbeyemi, said the robbers were
chased and captured after a victim reported
that he was robbed by the people in the bus
. He said they were apprehended around
Mile 2 area with 50 different stolen mobile
phones.
In their statements, the convicts, Chuckwudi
Ezeudo, of No. 1, Ezeudo Lane, off Babarin
Street, Ajegunle, and Mr. Wilfred Ukpo, of
No. 1, Ajose Street, Ajegunle, Olodi-Apapa,
Lagos, confessed they had been using the
bus to rob commuters around Lagos.
They confessed that they frequently
operated in different parts of Lagos like
Obalende, Orile, Pen-cinema, Ojota and its
environs. He admitted that any passenger
who refused to cooperate with them ended
up being beaten and thrown out of the bus
while still in motion.
He said:
“We had been in this business for a
long time and, snatching more than
50 phones and other items daily
which we sold as fairly used at
Computer Village, Ikeja and Ajegunle.
“Sometimes we even indecently
assault our victims, especially
women.”
Egbeyemi told Sunday Vanguard the
robbers have been charged to court and
convicted while the recovered items had
been returned to their owners on ‘bond’
after a thorough screening. He said the men
were each sentenced to seven years
imprisonment after they both pleaded guilty
to one count of ‘conspiracy to steal contrary
to Section 409 of Lagos State Command
Law of 2011’ which was levelled against
them.
Magistrate Lateef Owolabi, of the Lagos
State Mobile Court, Oshodi, said the seven
years jail term without option of fine was to
serve as deterrent to others still into
criminal.
The Chairman urged members of the public
to always report illegal and criminal
activities around them to law enforcement
agencies.
Source: Vanguard
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