A seven-man robbery gang led by a woman, Chioma Ezekwesiri, has been
smashed by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, in Lagos, southwest
Nigeria. The robbery suspects were arrested while attempting to rob
Bolatito Hotel, Kola Bus Stop, Ijaiye, Lagos.
Chioma said she arranged for the guns with Raymond Chukwuka, a.k.a.
Stubborn, they were to use for the operation, which she claimed was a
land matter, whereas the police said that their mission was allegedly to
rob a male customer of the hotel, who sells fertilizer, of about N8
million. Other suspected members of the gang are: Amadi Igwe, 41,
Raymond Chukwuka, 24, Ignatius Okeredi, 27, Michael Madu, 52, and
Okechukwu Jerome, 28, and a yet-to-be identified member who is at large.
The alleged robbery operation, according to the police, was foiled by
some staff of the hotel, who promptly made a distress call to SARS
operatives. The law enforcement agents were said to have surrounded the
hotel, and later searched all its occupants. It was in the process that
two locally made guns and 12 live ammunition were recovered from the
robbery suspects. “We received a distress call from a staff of Bolatito
Hotel, who said they suspected some people around the hotel. The Special
Anti-Robbery Squad moved in, surrounded the place and demanded to
search everybody. It was in the process that two guns and 12 live
ammunition were recovered in Chioma’s car. This led to the arrest of all
her gang members,” a top police source said.
Following their
arrest and conclusion of investigation, the police took them to court.
Chioma, 35, who claimed to be a Law graduate from the University of
Lagos, was remanded in prison custody along with six other members of
her gang by Magistrate A.O. Komolafe of the Magistrates’ Court, Ikeja.
They are facing a three count charge of robbery, conspiracy and unlawful
possession of firearms.
Chioma claimed that she graduated from UNILAG
in 1999, was called to the bar in 2000, and owns a Non-Governmental
Organisation, Youth of All Nations Empowerment Association. But
authorities of the University of Lagos said she did graduate from that
institution. An officer of the school, who craved anonymity, said Chioma
cannot claim to be an alumnus of the university if she cannot provide
her matriculation number. “The fact that she claimed to have gone to Law
School with the first batch is not substantial enough.
UNILAG usually
sends graduating students at a stretch, not in batches. My position on
the issue is that she did not graduate from UNILAG, and so she was not
our student,” the officer said. Chioma’s claim of being called to the
Bar was also debunked by Barrister Tunji Busari of Cognate Solicitors,
who explained that “we have a directory for all lawyers. We have all
their names with the year they were called to bar, with their NBA
registration numbers. When I checked through her name in the directory, I
could not find her name in my record book.” When our reporter called
Mr. J.E. Joshua, the chairman of Youth of All Nations Empowerment
Association, he denied that Chioma is the founder of the association.
“She just participated in a charity work which the association embarked
on in April, and promised to participate fully in other projects of the
NGO. But we decided to stop working with her when we realised that she
wasn’t a straight forward person. She is not working with us,” Joshua
stated.
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