Joy, a native of Benin City, Edo State, southsouth, Nigeria, and her gang allegedly operate in an unpainted cab during which they rob unsuspecting commuters in Lagos.
She was arrested by the police at Ikoyi Division, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.
She was arraigned before an Igbosere magistrate’s court, Lagos on a two-count charge of felony to wit, violently obtaining the sum of N30,000 from Mathew Agwu inside a vehicle, and thereafter pushing him off a moving vehicle.
The police alleged that the accused and other three male accomplices, now at large, on 17 February, 2013, at about 09:15a.m. committed the crime when they picked the victim on top of Oshodi bridge, popularly called Oshodi Oke, with their unpainted cab to Obalende .
And on their way, Joy and her accomplices, instead of heading to Obalende, diverted the vehicle to Anthony enroute Mushin area of Lagos, where they allegedly robbed the victim of his N30,000 and other belongings, and pushed him out of their moving vehicle and escaped.
Joy, according to police investigation, met her waterloo on 19 February, 2013, when she and her gang drove the same vehicle to Ikoyi area of Lagos Island to perpetrate the same act, but their vehicle reportedly broke down at Osborne Road junction. Investigation revealed that while they were pushing the vehicle off the major road, Mathew saw them from inside the vehicle he was travelling.
He alighted and raised an alarm which attracted passersby who assisted him to arrest Joy, while others escaped.
Matthew invited the police who took Joy to the station.
During interrogation, she allegedly confessed to the crime and begged the police for forgiveness.
In her confessional statement to the police, Joy said: “I was a prostitute in Lagos before I met my boyfriend, Ali Ibrahim, who introduced me into the ‘one chance’ robbery operation in August 2012.
“My duty is to sit in the front seat of the car to give confidence to passengers to enter the cab with two men (gang members) already seated at the back seat. And immediately the driver calls passengers and one person enters, we would zoom off.
“On the day of the incident,” she continued, “we picked the victim on top of Oshodi bridge as a passenger to Obalende, and we diverted to Anthony bus stop and headed toward Mushin. We robbed him along the road and pushed him out of the vehicle and escaped, but we did not use arms in our operations. I promise to go back to my prostitution business if I am set free,” she allegedly told the police.
The offences, the prosecutor, Corporal Raphael Donny said, contravened Section 409 and 312 of the criminal laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the Magistrate, Ali Balogun admitted her on bail in the sum of N20,000 with one surety who must show evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State government.
The matter was adjourned till 24 April, 2013 for mention.
The defendant was, however, moved to Kirikiri Prison pending when she will fulfil the bail condition.
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