An Accounting graduate of Kogi State University, Rekia Musa has been arrested by the police alongside 7 members of an armed robbery gang, PUNCH reports.
According to the report, the police said the gang had links with one Zakeria Isiaka who was arrested recently.
Rekia, also known as Hajia, told the police that she had only been an informant for the gang for four months.
Others member of the gang who were arrested are Ismaila Abdulmumuni, Abu-Amidu Disu, Tenimu Musa, Boniface David, Aliu Isah and Danjuma Cyprian.
Rekia told the police that one of her friends, Isah Mohammed had approached her four months ago that he knew some politicians that hid public funds they had stolen in their houses.
“He asked if I could help him to get a charm that would make it possible for him to disappear, called Etubi. He said if he could disappear into the politician’s house and steal the money unnoticed, he would give me a large cut of the money.
I then travelled to my village in Agba Local Government Area of Kogi State and met a boy called Tenimu. I told him about the plan and he promised that he could get the charm.
But instead, Tenimu told his friends about the money. The friends were armed robbers. They then came and tricked me into taking them to the politician’s house in Kano State,” she said.
According to Rekia, the gang could not rob the politician in Kano because of the heavy security.
“I thought targeting politicians who have stolen government money was a good idea because I was broke. Few days later, Isah got another piece of information about an immigration officer based in Lagos, who had stolen government money. I contacted my gang and we went to the man’s house and robbed him. But we didn’t get as much money as Isah told us the man had at home,” Rekia added.
Police sources said the suspects came on the radar of security agents after robbing the immigration officer, a comptroller in the service.
Isah, a 25-year-old Kogi indigene explained that it was the only operation he ever went with the gang.
“It was the bad friends I met in Abuja that led me into armed robbery. There was this customer, Ismaila, whom I made clothes for. He was the first person who told me about the money the politicians usually brought to his office at Mabuchi area of Abuja.
He said the politicians shared the money there and he said he could rob them. I then told him about one of my customers, Dan, who normally wore a charm around his waist. I told him he could take part in the robbery.
I also told another friend, Ismaila (Abdulmumuni). When I informed Dan about the money and the plan to rob the politicians, he said we should hold a meeting along the Duste Expressway in Abuja. He also brought some of his friends and Dan asked that we should go to the place.
After a while, Dan said we might need guns for the robbery and that the politicians might have some powerful charms,” Isah said.
Isah told the police that Abdulmumuni alerted the gang when the politicians came the share the money, and they robbed the politicians of about N200m.
“After the operation, Dan called and gave me N4.5m, which he said I should share with Ismalia. But I later learnt that we actually got more than N200m from the robbery. Dan alone got N25m,” Isah added.
Photo Credit: Punch