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By Ifeanyi Okolie

FRAUDSTERS have devised new methods of dispossessing victims of their cash and valuables in Lagos State and its environs. Unlike in the past when they sweet-talked their unsuspecting victims into parting with large sums of money in the guise of either doubling it or providing contacts that would facilitate the purchase of imported electronic items at cheaper rates, they now openly threaten and even rape their victims into submission.

Though their modus operandi still remains the same, the fraudsters compliment their criminal efforts by forcefully subjecting their victims to torture after brandishing their deadly weapons.

The case of 23 year-old, Ozoemena Oko, who boarded a blue-coloured cab at Igando bus stop, Alimosho L.G.A on his way to Aspanda market, will readily suffice. He was inside the bus when one of the fraudsters raised his shirt to show him a brownie pistol. Oko had about N465,000 meant for the purchase of tyres inside his bag. After showing him the gun, the fraudster now relaxed and started lecturing him on why he should present any money with him to the group so that they would multiply the amount three times.

Remote area in Igando
In fact, while he was contemplating whether he had a choice of saying yes or no, his abductors kept on showing him the gun while moving towards a remote area in Igando. Unfortunately, when they got to a lonely spot, they dispossessed him of the money and drove off.

Oko, however, showed some sense of bravery by swiftly alerting his elder brother who promptly raced to the scene with a team of policemen attached to Rapid Response Squad, RRS. When they got to the scene, the suspects had absconded with their loot. His attackers did not just leave, they inflicted bodily injuries on him and left him in a pool of blood. RRS operatives felt helpless when they couldn’t lay their hands on any of the suspects. They took the victim to Ikotun police station and reported the incident.

...the suspects

Many other residents of the state have been falling victims to exploits of these fraudsters. Mercy Elom, 18, from Ebonyi State, was also robbed and raped by the same gang. She was attacked when she boarded a cab at Ejigbo bus stop on her way to work. Her attackers pointed a gun at her midway into the journey and later whisked her to the same location where they earlier robbed their first victim, Oko.

Her case was a little bit different from Oko’s own; she was raped when her attackers couldn’t get any cash from her. They found two ATM cards in her purse and ordered two men to follow her to an ATM machine where they withdrew N56, 000 from her account. She also made her complaint at Ikotun police station.  Fortunately, police detectives swung into action and succeeded in arresting an elderly landlord of the house close to where she was attacked.

Luckily, the detectives carried out further investigations after the case was transferred to the special anti-robbery squad, SARS, at the headquarters, Ikeja, and arrested their leader identified as Rotimi Adegunola (42). Three other members of the syndicate, Joseph Okoro, Joshua Adeoye and  Sylvester Orji, were also arrested.

Police sources said they initially thought they were dealing with armed bandits only for them to discover after the arrests that they were fraudsters who have devised new methods of frightening victims with guns before forcefully dispossessing them of their money. They said: “Our search took us to the home of one of the most dreaded and notorious fraudsters in the State, Rotimi Adegunola who has been on the wanted list of all police formations.

“Prior to his arrest, we caught other three members of his syndicate who actually led us to him. But while we were interrogating them, they confessed that people were no longer falling prey to their style of operation hence they decided to add new methods to their trade. These could be the obvious reasons why they now use firearms in intimidating their victims into parting with their valuables.”

When Crime Alert spoke with the alleged notorious leader of  the syndicate, Rotimi, inside the confines of police cell, he admitted  indulging in the act of fraud but denied ever using firearms in intimidating his victims. He said: “I am a business man, I am into local 419, and my office is at Alhaji Olojo’s compound in Igando.

“We defraud people with our brains; we don’t intimidate them with guns. All we do is to set out to various parts of the state to get our victims and when we succeed, we engage them into conversations about some stolen money in the boot of the cab. When they fall prey to out story, we would then tell them to come for spiritual cleansing, after which we will frighten them into taking oaths that would kill them for divulging details of our dealings.

“After this we would ask the victims to bring to us all the money they have in their possession. This is all I do but I don’t use guns. As the leader of the syndicate, I took over N120, 000 as my share from the Oko’s loot and took N15,000 from Mercy. I don’t know if my boys showed her gun as she claimed but I am sure we don’t operate with gun.”

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