Joy Anyim
A suspected member of a notorious armed- gang in the Ijesha area of Lagos State, arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), has revealed how his gang capitalised on gang wars in the area and Itire to robber business owners and residents.
The 19-year-old suspect, Opeyemi Ayoola, who gave the identity of his gang as ‘Star Boys’ was arrested with four other of his gang members, after an attack on a resident.
The identity of the other suspects were given as Segun Oladokun, Oluwasegun Ajagun, Friday Aduadu Friday and Qudus Jimoh.
Ayoola, a commercial motorcyclist said he does not participate in the robbery but drives joy in fighting.
He said, “ It is true that I am a member of Star Boys gang and we uses to fight with the Itire Boys.
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“They destroyed the windscreen of one of our tricycle and that led to the first clash between us. In our subsequent clash, I saw people robbing residents.
“There was never a time that joined them to rob anybody. I only follow them to fight, because I derived joy in fighting.
“In fact, there was a time I helped someone in my area ,who was about to be attacked by some of our boys.
“ They attacked one Alfa and I told them that he was one of our elder brothers in the neighbourhood.
“I helped him to retrieve his stolen phone and other valuables. We don’t use gun to fight. We use knives, machetes, planks, broken bottles and iron. I have never seen any of us using guys in any fight .”
While Oladokun and Ajagun admitted membership of the gang, Jimoh and Friday denied being members of the notorious group.
Police source alleged Jimoh and Friday work as security men in a hotel, and acted as armourers for the gang, as they kept their guns in the hotel.
The source said Oladokun also had a gun, he, however, denied it saying, “ I am the only authentic member of the Star Boys group.
“Others are just using the name to ferment trouble. We use the group to help one another in the area like a social club.
“I know some of our junior ones do fight with their counterparts in Itire but I have never been a part to it.
“I am a cobbler and I also ride tricycle, whenever I had nothing doing in my shop. It was Ayoola that pointed me to the police as one of the leaders of the Star Boys.
“Ayoola and others are younger to us and there is no way we can belong to the same group .
“I don’t have a gun in my possession .They are talking about a gun that belong to my friend and they have gone to the hotel, where the gun was kept by my friend Qudus.”
The state’s commissioner of police, Hakeem Odumosu, confirmed the arrest of the suspects, and said police was on the trail of other members of the gang.
The police boss also stated that there was no hiding place for gangsters and other criminals in the state.
