Luck ran out on a notorious armed robbery kingpin at Aboh Junction in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State penultimate Thursday when one of his victims apprehended him.
The suspected criminal simply identified as Friday Mgbeoji hails from Akpodim in Mbaise but resides in Abu Amumara also in Mbaise. He was said to have masterminded the robbery attack on Our Lady of Victory Catholic Parish, Amumara in Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA.
According to eyewitnesses, shortly after the parish priest returned from his annual leave, Friday led his gang to invade the church last month on June 25, 2014 and carted away money and property worth hundreds of thousands of naira in addition to the priest’s car which was later recovered.
The eyewitnesses, who spoke to 247ureports.com on the condition of anonymity, narrated how the armed robbery kingpin was apprehended. According to him, one of the victims of the armed robbery attack on Our Lady of Victory Parish and brother to one of the priests in the church who returned home for the burial of his late mother sighted the armed robber putting on the T-shirt made for the burial, which was one of the items stolen by the robbers.
He said the priest’s brother trailed the suspect to Aboh Junction and walked up to him. “He introduced himself to the suspect as a captain in the Nigerian Army. This made the suspect to become violent as he started attacking the man. When the man fell down, the suspect took to his heel”.
It was at this point, he said, the priest’s brother started shouting “robber! Robber!”, a development that attracted the attention of the people around including okada riders, butchers and passers-by, who gave the suspect a chase of his life “until he was caught while trying to jump into the Queen pf Peace Nursery/Primary School where Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary reside”.
When apprehended, a gun, bullets and other ammunitions were also recovered from his bag while some of the phones stolen from the priest were also recovered. He confessed to the crime when the mob was about to lynch him.
He was however said to have been saved by a priest, Fr. Chris Akuchie who pleaded for the suspect to rather be handed over to the police instead of killing him.
As at the time of filing this report, the suspect was still assisting the police in their investigation. It was learnt that some of his gang members including his wife have been arrested. His wife, Rosemary, according to police sources in Oweeri, was arrested for assisting him in hiding all the stolen phones and other items inside cooking pots.
