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.
In chat with P.M.NEWS, 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 told P.M.NEWS.
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.
•The suspected seven-man robbery
gang, including Chioma, their
leader
•The suspected seven-man robbery gang,
including Chioma, their leader
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 not
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.