30th May, 2012
A jailbird who was arrested by the police with a gun and bullets confessed that he was only a thief and not an armed robber.
The police in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, have arrested a man after his neighbour discovered he hid a short gun in his house.
He is currently detained at Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, Ikeja, Lagos, where he confessed that he was a thief and not an armed robber.
The 26-year-old man was found with a short gun with two live bullets in his house at 4, Olowo Nirala Street, Abaranje, Ikotun, Lagos.
The suspect, who said he was the first of the four children by his mother, said he had been in and out of prison custody before this incident.
He confessed that he was jailed five years for a criminal offence and was released from Ikoyi Prison last year and after which he changed his name to Lukman.
He wrapped the gun and bullets in a nylon bag, dug a hole and hid it.
He was unlucky because one of his neighbours who saw him when he was hiding them in the night, went to the place and raised alarm. He was held and handed over to the police who are now interrogating him.
The Oyo State-born suspect said the arms belong to his friend, who lives at Abule Egba who asked him to keep then for him but he could not explain what his friend does with the arms .
“I just came out of prison last year after I was jailed for five years,” he said.
The suspect said that since he was released from prison he had no clear business.
When P.M.NEWS visited his house, some residents confirmed the incident and explained that it was the vigilance group in the area that held him and handed him over to the police after his neighbours raised the alarm.
Sources at the SARS said the police have intensified efforts to arrest his friend.
—Cyriacus Izuekwe & Dedeigbo Ayodeji