I am addicted to robbery, I can't stop - Married father of two

Joshua Tabiti, 31, has told operatives of the Zonal Intervention Squad, (ZIS) Onikan, Lagos State, that he couldn’t stop stealing and robbery, even if his life depended on it.

He said that he had been stealing right from his childhood. Three other members of the gang, arrested along with him are Oluseye Arokoyo (34), Ahmed Alli (24) and Moses Ofoke (31), receiver of the stolen vehicles.

Tabiti said: “I have done everything to stop stealing, but I couldn’t. My parents also tried their best, but I cannot do away with robbery. I was sacked where I worked as a driver after I stole my boss’ money.”

The suspect and his gang members were said to have stolen about 26 Toyota Camry cars from Oworoshoki, Bariga and Somolu areas of Lagos metropolis. He said: “I’m a driver with two children. 
 
I started doing this job after I was sacked where I worked as a driver at Victoria Island. My friend introduced me to this job in 2017. I have stolen 11 vehicles in Oworonshoki, Bariga and Somolu in Lagos. What we do is to go out around 2 a.m. . 
A man cuts a master key for us to steal Toyota cars. We open the cars and kick-start the ignitions. We don’t rob at gunpoint. We got the key for N1000 or N2000. After stealing, we send the cars to Ondo to two buyers.

The first car we stole was a Nissan salon. We sold it for N100, 000, the other; a Toyota Camry was sold for N200, 000. Others were sold for N300, 000. We usually share the money after selling the cars. I used my own money to rent a house and bought household items.”