It was the end of the road for a 38-year-old man who pretends to be a taxi driver in the day, but provides specialized services to armed robbers at night in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The suspect, Isah Akubo, who has been a taxi driver for over 18 years now, works as the pilot driver for criminal groups at night where they attack companies, business premises and rob innocent persons of their valuables.
Apart from working as an armed robber at night, Akubo, who belongs to a 10-man robbery gang, also specialized in the snatching and stealing of cars from their owners and from parking lots, which they end up selling.
Married with six children, Akubo, who hails from Dekinah Local Government Area of Kogi State, said that his professional skills at driving lured the criminals who admired his bravery to demand for his services.
He said that though he knew the people who approached him were armed robbers because they told him so, the huge amount of monies he realized from his first operation with the gang made him to continue in the criminal act.
He said that unlike in the taxi business where he labours for nearly 24 hours and make peanuts, driving for the criminal group is more lucrative as he sometimes makes what he cannot make as a taxi driver in one month in just one operation on a good day.
As the lead pilot driver to all the groups operations, he said that they usually carry out surveillance during the day to know all the escape routes if they come in contact with security agencies and local vigilante and get used to such routes before embarking on the operations.
The suspect, who was paraded by the FCT police command, said that on the day of these operations he drives to the destination with the gang members, but remains in the car with his engine still running to monitor the environment and alert the group of any intruder.
As soon as they are done, they run back to the car and he zooms off, taking different locations so as not to be tracked until they get to their hideouts.
At their hideout, which is usually on the outskirts of the FCT, and inside the bush, he said they would bring out all the loots and divide them among themselves.
These loots, according to him, sometimes include electronic gadgets, communication gadgets, laptops, jewelries, household items, expensive clothes, wristwatches, monies and other valuables.
He said that they usually have buyers on standby, who they call to buy the stolen items and they pay them cash.
This was what he has been doing over the years until he was arrested. Interestingly, he said that he had just started working with this new group for about five months before he landed in the police net as operatives have been on the lookout for the group following reports from residents.
On how he met this gang that led to his arrest, he said that he got to know them through one Mr Nuru Yunusa, who approached him and told him about some contract jobs they have.
He said that Nuru told him the contract involved a huge amount of money stocked in the house and that the driver that usually takes them on those operations had travelled out of Abuja and he agreed to join them.
A time was set for the operation on the agreed date which went very successful and they paid him his own share of the money, which made him happy and looked forward to working with the gang.
Before his arrest, he said that they had embarked on about eight operations where he was rewarded very handsomely.
With the money he made from the loot, he said that he was able to provide for his wife, six children and relatives who do not know he belongs to an armed robbery group.
He said that he gets between N500,000 and N100,000, as his own share depending on how much they get on their operations.
Apart from proving professional services for the armed robbery gang, Akubo, said they also specialized in snatching and stealing vehicles from their owners, sell them and share the proceeds.
According to him, they have stolen several vehicles at Wuse, Garki, Asokoro, and other busy spots in the FCT.
On the day of his arrest, he said they had gone to Mpape, a satellite town in the FCT, to steal a vehicle.
On getting to Mpape, he said they had access to the premises where the vehicle was parked, broke into the house, carted away monies and other valuables and stole the car, which he drove for the gang to their usual location.
Throughout the period of the operations, he said that he stayed outside to monitor and alert the gang of any intruder.
After a successful operation, he as usual took over the steering of the car and drove to their hideout.
On how he feels having been arrested, he said that he feels very bad as his act has brought a big disgrace to his family, especially his wife and children whom all these while had thought he was a genuine taxi driver as he had made them believe.
Akubo, who is now looking sober, said: “This is the first time that we will be having a person who is an armed robber in my family because I have never heard that anyone stole talkless of becoming an armed robber since I was born in my family. My act has really brought shame and disgrace to my family and I regret going into this, it is the work of the devil.”
Upon his arrest, the police said that Akubo, who belongs to a 10-man robbery gang, took them to virtually all the places they had operated.
Akubo, was arrested alongside four members of the gang at You and You Hotel, Sambisa Masaka Area of Nasarawa State, while the others are on the run.
They were found to be in possession of five AK-47 Rifle, four G-3 Rifles, 122 lives ammunition of 7.62MM, one locally made pistol without ammunition, three ballistic vest, 6 AK47 empty magazines, seven G-3 empty magazines, charms of various degrees, one Police Sgt warrant card, one vigilante ID card, one Civil Defence I.D card, one Toyota Camry 2000 model, golden colour, with registration number GGE 702 CH, one golf three wagon green colour, with registration number KWL 22 GQ x, two generators and one filing machine.
The police said that the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.