Okada snatchers arrested after meeting their match

25-year-old Al-Mustapha El-Zakazi, an Ivorian living in Lagos, became a robber few years ago, but he had never encountered a victim who was not afraid of death and gun.

El-Zakazi had notified a friend of his, 24-year-old Abiodun Johnson, of his plan for the day after borrowing a gun from another friend of his, who is now at large. El-Zakazi said he could not ride a motorcycle and needed a wheelman, a purpose Johnson was supposed to serve. 

They set out that morning and soon encountered a commercial motorcyclist, whom they beckoned on, pretending to be passengers. El-Zakazi, who is now in custody of the Lagos State Police Command, told our correspondent, “As soon as the okada man stopped, I pointed the locally made pistol at his head and told him to come down from the motorcycle. 

He said 

 

“My friend, Johnson, then climbed on the motorcycle. But the okada man refused to let go. I had never seen someone as fearless as that before. He started dragging the motorcycle with us and arguing with me. I told him I would kill him, even though I was not ready to kill anybody. He still was not afraid. I was angry at his stubbornness and confidence.

“When I realised the matter was being prolonged, I shot him in the leg in anger. As he screamed, we jumped on the motorcycle and sped off.”

Moments after they shot their victim, drawing the attention of people around, some of whom promptly fled, they ran into a fleeing passerby, and knocked him to the ground.

But before they could stand and speed off again, residents of Mazamaza pounced on them and they were apprehended. They were later handed over to the police. 

El-Zakazi explained that when he first got to Lagos from Ivory Coast some years ago, he was working in an aluminium company but soon realised that he could make much more through robbery.

“I heard about a gang that was stealing motorcycles in Lagos and selling them off in Cotonou, Benin Republic. That was why I decided to specialise in robbing people of motorcycles.

Johnson, an Oyo State indigene on the other hand, said that he had no home and had been living under a bridge in Lagos.

According to him, all El-Zakazi told him was that the operation was going to be clean and that nobody would get hurt.

“He said I only needed to ride any motorcycle we snatched and did not have to do any other thing than that. He promised me that whatever we made from selling the motorcycle would be shared between the two of us. When we headed to Mazamaza, I became afraid when we snatched the motorcycle but the rider refused to let go. The only thing that brought me here is because I am poor and I could not resist the temptation of the money we would have made,” he said.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, has said the suspects would be charged to court soon.

Okada snatchers arrested after meeting their match