Three suspects have been arrested for their alleged involvement in “one chance” criminal operations.
The suspects, James Awaji, Abel Obinna and Sunday, were arrested in Abuja by operatives of the Special Tactical Squad and IGP Intelligence Response Team.
The suspects revealed that they prefer female victims.
Giving reason for the preference of female, the suspects explained that “men drag too much.”
One of the suspects specialized in giving his car out on rental and gets return from those who go out for one chance operations.
One of their victims who did not want to be named narrated her experience with the suspects.
She said: “I just closed from work because I work around the NNPC towers. Usually, the drivers that ply that route carry mostly footballers who are just returning from training at that time of the day. So, when I flagged them off, I assumed the passengers were also footballers who had changed from their training kit.
“They picked me at about 5:30pm around the NNPC towers area and drove round to different spots. While I was in the car, when I started suspecting and attempted to escape, I noticed that their car lock was disabled.
“The one who sat in front with the driver reclined his seat to pin me down. With that, I found it difficult to move out of the vehicle. They dropped me off around 9pm at Maitama express after they had beaten me and dispossessed me of all my belongings.
“They injured my eye but I managed to register the number plate of the vehicle in my head despite the pain. It was the number plate that I ended up using to commence my own investigation when I recovered.
“I went to search for the number plate online and proceeded to the relevant authorities who ended up directing me to the Police. It was that number plate that was used to trace them.”
The suspects also took turns to narrate the various roles they played in the alleged crime.
James Awaji, 33 who uses his car for rental purposes to those who deal in one chance crime said he was an ex-convict.
He said: “I was arrested in the past and charged to Gwagwalada court for similar offence but I got a good lawyer who freed me. I was arrested because I gave my friend my car. My friend used the car for one chance. I was not part of their last operation. When I used to go out for the operation, I make about N50,000 to N100,000 daily and my usual route is Berger to Wuse.
Speaking on how they operate, he said: “We don’t like to carry passengers from motor parks. We look for isolated areas or places along the road where it looks like the passengers are desperate for vehicles.
“We prefer to carry women because they are calm and always carry handbags. I don’t like male passengers because they drag too much. We don’t use guns or knives. We only use stapler. We open and close the stapler to make sound like gun just to scare our victims.
“I rented out my car to my friend. The first operation, they came back with N50,000 as my returns. The second week, they gave me N20,000 and I got N15,000 in the third week.”
Also speaking, Abel Obinna said: “I used to do one chance before but I retired and travelled home to Enugu where I went to acquire some properties but when I noticed that things were not moving well for me again, I relocated to Abuja again.
“I rented the car from my friend and after each operation, we share the money amongst ourselves. We usually use the proceeds from the crime to sustain ourselves.”
Sunday on his part said he was new in the business. “I am a newcomer. I asked James for money when I was broke but he told me he didn’t have. He, however, asked me to follow him out. It was while we were out that they picked a lady and robbed her.”
Reacting to the rate of one chance operation, the Force Spokesman, DCP Frank Mba said efforts are being made to reduce the rate of crime in the country.
He also stated that two of the suspects have history of being charged to court.
Giving security tips, Mba said: “If you are a commuter in FCT, Lagos, and other cities where one chance operate, please avoid using unpainted taxis as much as possible
“When possible, avoid taking vehicles from unauthorised parks. Also, let your instinct rule you. If you are not comfortable, step back. If the car is unduly tinted and unpainted, it could be a red flag. If a vehicle does not care about your direction and the amount you are willing to pay, it is a red flag.
“If one of the occupants of the vehicles step down for you to enter, it could be a red flag but also know that some of the syndicates have females.”