Oluwatoyin Malik reports that three men who met at Agodi Prison, Ibadan decided to form an alliance to commit further heist.THE prison is supposed to be a place of reformation and rehabilitation for those who erred against the law. But for the trio of Adeyanju Olusegun 57, Anthony Udo 35 and Agu David 36, it seems the period of their stay in the prison was used to reinforce and re-strategise for greater exploits in the crime world. While still in prison, they decided to maintain contact with the intention to form a new gang after their release. Their area of speciality was NITEL cable vandalism.The trio, according to information gathered, met in Agodi Prisons, Ibadan, when they were remanded for different crimes. While Olusegun was in the prison for allegedly stealing N1.5 million belonging to his former boss who was a politician and a lawmaker during Governor Rasidi Ladoja's tenure, David and Udo were arrested and charged to court by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) after they were caught while allegedly trying to load stolen cables into a truck at Bodija area of Ibadan, Oyo State.Though these partners in crime left prison at different times, they immediately contacted one another and decided to continue with their vandalism business. Since Udo and David were from Lagos, Olusegun became their pointman in Ibadan and was saddled the task of looking out for the spots where they would find manholes to work in.According to investigations, Udo and David as well as one other man, Yakubu Danjuma, arrived Ibadan on Monday, September 19, and were accommodated by Olusegun in his house at Moniya area of Ibadan. On Tuesday, the four, led by Olusegun, met with two other men who Olusegun described as 'my colleagues' who were asked to link the gang with the men securing the area they wanted to work in. They were linked with a Hausa man who was in charge of the area but unknown to them, a policeman who was an undercover agent disguising as a nightguard witnessed the discussion and alerted his bosses at Moniya division.In response to the alert, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), CSP John Wada Aku, reportedly led his men to lay ambush for the suspected cable vandals and as planned, the suspects came and entered the manhole in preparation for 'business', but were jolted when the police rounded them up and arrested them.Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, the leader of the gang, Olusegun, who said that he lived at Labi area of Moniya, stated that he was a lotto collector but had worked as a mechanic with the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) before he left in 1987. 'I later worked as a personal assistant to an honourable member of the House of Assembly during former Governor Rasidi Ladoja's tenure but was sacked when I stole N1.5million from him. I stole the money because the politicians were getting a lot of money but were cheating us and the money was 'Owo aye' (meant for all).'I was remanded in Agodi prisons and it was there I met Anthony Udo and Agu David. We exchanged numbers and I came out before them in March this year. After they came out, they called me on Monday September 19 and told me they were coming to 'work' in Ibadan and would stay with me. Three of them ' Udo, David and Yakubu ' came that night and slept in my house. They discussed their plan to vandalise NITEL cables with me and I told them that I would introduce them to my colleagues.'I took them to two of these colleagues and they in turn took them to one Hausa man that Tuesday. They were at the spot where they were trying to cut the cables when they were caught in the early hours of Wednesday,' Olusegun alleged.In his own statement, David, who hails from Enugu State, told the Nigerian Tribune that he was a casual labourer in a construction company in Lagos before his arrest by the NSCDC at Bodija area of Ibadan while he was trying to load NITEL cables into a vehicle about five months ago. 'I was introduced to the business by one Kenneth. We were remanded in prison and regained our freedom in July 2011. I met Olusegun in the prison and we all discussed what brought us to the prison. He told Udo and I that he would help us find a way to continue with our 'business' after leaving the prison.'When we came out in July, Udo called him and we came to Ibadan on Monday September 19. Olusegun introduced us to some people, unknown to us that they were police undercover agents. We first entered one manhole but could not get any cable. We were about going to another one when we were caught by the police,' he claimed.Udo, who is from Akwa Ibom State, also said that he was working as a labourer when he was invited allegedly by Agu the first time to join his gang in loading stolen cables. He also confirmed that he met Olusegun at the Agodi Prison.'We were arrested and sent to prison. When we came out of prison, we called Olusegun and we came to Ibadan with Yakubu. He had worked with some people before and knew what we were coming to do in Ibadan. He even paid for our transport,' he said.However, Yakubu, a 30-year-old from Jigawa State who said that he was a truck pusher, denied knowing the intent of the other suspects. 'I came to Lagos early this year and I helped people in loading goods and also used a truck to carry loads. I was just invited to come and work as a labourer and I had the intention of doing the job to fend for myself. I did not know they were coming to steal,' Yakubu maintained.Nigerian Tribune gathered that the suspects had been transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit, Ibadan and the police imagemaker in Oyo State, ASP Femi Okanlawon confirmed this, saying that the suspects would be charged to court at the completion of investigations.
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