ALHAJI CAME FROM US TO FORM ROBBERY GANG IN NIGERIA

Alhaji Kehinde a.k.a. Kenny (surname withheld) is a man who has travelled to countries outside Nigeria. He lived in the United States of America where he claims to have a wife and two children before finally settling back in Nigeria, His very visible silver tooth also indicates that he has been to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam. But strangely, he decided to add armed robbery to his work experience in his curriculum vitae. Alhaji Kehinde was recently arrested by operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) of the Oyo State Police Command over allegations that, alongside a gang member, Mojeed Yusuf a.k.a. DJ Potter, he dispossessed two victims of their unregistered Lexus RX350 SUVs (2010 and 2013 models) at gunpoint in Ibadan within a space of four months.

Saturday Tribune gathered that the arrest followed a report made at the Violent Crime Response Unit by a complainant, Abdulazeez Abdulgafar, on June 2, 2026. The victim reported that at about 9:30 p.m. at Odo Ona-Apata area of Ibadan, he was returning home with his fiancée in his unregistered Lexus RX350 (2010 model) when armed robbers in a black Ford SUV accosted them in front of his house. He told the police how he was robbed at gunpoint while his vehicle was snatched. His iPhone 17 Pro Max, gold earring worth N700,000 and over N2 million cash were also taken. His fiancée’s wig and other valuables were equally stolen.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, who confirmed the arrest of the suspects when contacted, said that based on the report, Commissioner of Police Olugbenga Ayodeji Abimbola directed VCRU operatives to commence an immediate investigation. Acting promptly, the operatives launched an intelligence-led operation and moved to Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos State on the same June 2, where they sighted the stolen vehicle where it was parked.

Prior to the discovery of the vehicle, the two gang members who allegedly carried out the operation in Ibadan had left the city early on June 2 and arrived at a junction in Iju, Lagos. From there, Alhaji Kehinde reportedly called one Oluwaseun a.k.a. Little and asked him to quickly source drug barons who could supply N8 million worth of hard drugs in exchange for the Lexus SUV. Little, who admitted selling illicit drugs, reportedly sent the photograph of the vehicle to a drug baron in Ghana, who offered N13 million — N5 million above what Alhaji Kehinde requested.

With the deal sealed, Alhaji Kehinde was said to have called one Alhaji Musiliu to help wash the vehicle and make it presentable, as Little planned to take it to Badagry to meet the drug barons arriving from Ghana. However, when some people noticed unfamiliar faces around the vehicle in Iju — unaware they were VCRU operatives — they reportedly alerted Alhaji Musiliu, who informed Alhaji Kehinde and advised that the vehicle should be moved. To Musiliu’s surprise, Kehinde reportedly stopped him from doing so, raising suspicion. Meanwhile, Kehinde allegedly called Little aside and handed him the gun used during the robbery for safekeeping. Little, in turn, informed Musiliu, who reprimanded him for getting involved in such a thing and advised him to dispose of the weapon before it landed him in trouble.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Kehinde reportedly approached some policemen and told them that he had purchased a vehicle which some thugs were trying to take from him. The policemen followed him, Little and Alhaji Musiliu to where the vehicle was parked on June 6, only for them to be rounded up by VCRU operatives who had laid an ambush there for several days. They were all taken to Iju Police Station, where the policemen discovered that Kehinde’s story was false.

At that time, the suspect who allegedly carried out the operation with Alhaji Kehinde, identified as Mojeed a.k.a. DJ Potter, was still at large. While the police were trying to track him down, one of the detained suspects, Alhaji Kehinde, requested that his wife be called to bring him his medications. Unknown to the operatives, Kehinde allegedly used the opportunity to pass Mojeed’s phone number to his wife and instructed her to warn him to disappear. Saturday Tribune gathered that immediately Mojeed received the information, he destroyed his SIM card, bought another one and fled to his hometown, Sepeteri.

Before Mojeed’s arrest, it was learnt that Kehinde and Little told VCRU operatives that it was Mojeed who brought the stolen vehicle to Lagos while they were merely receivers, but the truth emerged after Mojeed’s arrest. Since then, Kehinde’s wife has reportedly stopped visiting him at the VCRU, apparently aware of the implication of what she allegedly did.

As interrogation continued, another victim reportedly appeared at the VCRU and narrated how his Lexus SUV had also been snatched at gunpoint in February. He said he had petitioned the Commissioner of Police, and that the matter had been referred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Iyaganku. He explained that he came to the VCRU after being advised at the SCID to check suspects arrested for specialising in snatching unregistered vehicles. On arrival, he identified the suspects as his attackers, and they reportedly confessed to the crime. Alhaji Kehinde was also said to have led operatives to Lagos, where he sold the stolen vehicle to a motor dealer. The dealer admitted buying it before reselling it to a clergyman in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for N23 million. He said Kehinde claimed the vehicle belonged to him and even convinced him by placing a video call to his wife in the United States, who allegedly claimed she had shipped the vehicle to Nigeria for her husband to sell. She also reportedly told the dealer they had a 2024 Toyota Highlander SUV and some containers awaiting clearance at the Nigerian ports. The dealer bought the stolen vehicle for N13 million and resold it for N23 million.

It was further learnt that after investigations established that the clergyman unknowingly purchased a stolen vehicle, he was contacted and informed of the circumstances. He reportedly brought the vehicle to Ibadan, where it was registered as an exhibit. Also recovered were the two iPhones forcefully collected from the two victims.

Alhaji Kehinde, who gave his age as 52 in an interview with Saturday Tribune, said: “I live in Lagos but am from Ogun State. I was a developer. I was arrested for snatching vehicles from two persons while armed with an airgun pistol. I got it from one of the vehicles I shipped in from the United States.”

He stated further: “Mojeed is my gang member. We have known each other for a long time. We rubbed minds together and decided to start vehicle snatching. We targeted unregistered ones. The first operation was in February, this year, at about 9 p.m. We usually moved around, looking for a prey. Our operational vehicle was my Ford SUV. On that day, I deliberately brushed a Lexus RX350 SUV, causing the driver to stop. I pretended as if I wanted to clean the scratched part with brake fluid, but Mojeed came out with the gun, collected the key of the vehicle from the owner. We kept the vehicle somewhere within Ibadan and, very early the following day, took it to Lagos, where we sold it to a car dealer for N13 million. The second operation was in June. We followed our target. As he got to the gate of his house, I parked and Mojeed stepped out and pointed the gun at the owner.”

Explaining how he was arrested, Kehinde said the last vehicle his gang snatched was tracked to Lagos. “We had planned to sell the SUV to Little, who would exchange it for hard drugs in a deal with drug barons from Ghana,” he disclosed, adding that although he knew crime had consequences, he never thought about them before his arrest.

Kehinde also disclosed that he lived in the United States for about 12 years before returning to Nigeria in 2023. Though he claimed to have been working as a developer. Little, who confessed to being a drug dealer and also acting as the gang’s armourer, told Saturday Tribune that Kehinde was also involved in the sale of hard drugs.

The second suspect, Mojeed, aged 37, also spoke on his background and how he became involved in crime: “I am from Sepeteri in Oyo State but live in Ibadan. I learnt carpentry in Lagos and had known Alhaji Kehinde for a long time in Mushin. He was the one who told me he would give me money if we worked together to snatch vehicles, and I agreed.

“When he first started coming, our moves were initially unsuccessful as we drove round Ibadan metropolis looking for vehicles to snatch.”

“Our first successful operation was at Bodija. I was given the gun because Kehinde was driving the operational vehicle. At Bodija, he deliberately brushed the Lexus SUV we were trailing. As my gang member apologised to the owner and pretended to clean the scratched surface with brake fluid, I pointed the gun at the owner and collected the key. I drove the vehicle to Lagos. He gave me N2 million after selling it for N13 million.”

“It was not as if I deliberately chose the path of crime. Kehinde told me he had debts to pay.”

“On the second operation, we followed a Lexus SUV owner from Challenge to his residence at Apata. After he entered his street and opened his gate, I approached him with the gun while Kehinde parked at the entrance. I collected the key and drove the SUV away. Before leaving, I also collected the driver’s phone and gold earring.”

How we were arrested

“When the car was sighted by the police, Alhaji Kehinde called me after he was arrested. He simply said: ‘Michael, how far? Where are you? Come for those goods.’ I became suspicious because he called me by a name I don’t bear. My wife also informed me that the police came looking for me. Later, Kehinde’s wife called and warned me to go into hiding. I left my residence and kept moving from place to place before eventually going to Sepeteri. I destroyed my SIM card and bought another one. I was surprised when the police still traced and arrested me.”

Asked how he felt after his arrest, Mojeed said: “If the government can show me mercy, I promise never to do such a thing again.”

He added: “Anyone thinking of going into crime as we did should desist. Let our experience be a lesson. Crime does not pay in the long run.”

The third suspect, Oluwaseun a.k.a. Little, who allegedly acted as the gang’s armourer and also dealt in hard drugs, also narrated his role: “I am from Ijebu in Ogun State but live in Lagos. I’m into the business of hard drugs. I don’t take hard drugs except Codeine, Tramadol and Swinol mixed with Coca-Cola whenever I feel weak. I sell skunk, Ghana Loud, Ice and cannabis.”

“I got involved through Alhaji Kehinde. He is like a big brother to me in Mushin. He travelled abroad and used to ship goods into Nigeria. He didn’t need to buy drugs from me because he was also selling them. Our area at Alakija in Mushin is known for hard drug sales. We became closer in 2025.”

“I became involved in the vehicle matter when he called me that he had a vehicle for sale. I told him I had no money but would contact my customers to know whether any of them could either buy it or exchange hard drugs for it. We planned a trade-by-barter arrangement. I never knew the vehicle was stolen. I considered him a clean man. The drug barons offered N13 million worth of drugs, but I told Kehinde they offered only N8 million because I intended to share the difference with others.”

“Alhaji Kehinde later asked me to meet him where the vehicle was kept in Iju. I respected him and went. The following day, his friend called to tell me the vehicle was stolen. Kehinde also said he wanted to report the matter at a police station, claiming jealous people were trying to frame him. He then asked me to keep his gun. He was with Mojeed. I accepted it, and that became my greatest mistake. When Alhaji Musiliu later informed me that the gun had been used for robbery, I became frightened and threw it away. I later took the police there, but it could not be found.”

“Alhaji Kehinde also gave me one of the victims’ phones after I asked him for it. I thought it was a fairly used phone from the United Kingdom and that I could unlock it.”

Narrating his ordeal, one of the victims, Abdulazeez Abdulgafar a.k.a. Ajibola, told Saturday Tribune: “On June 1, after leaving my tailor’s shop at about 8 p.m., I bought food at Ring Road and picked my fiancée and her friend. It was almost 9 p.m. when we got home. As I opened the gate and drove in, a man suddenly approached me with a gun. I later learnt from neighbours that they had been trailing me and almost hit my vehicle.”

“I ran towards a corner inside my compound, but the armed robber chased me. He forcefully yanked the gold earring from my ear and injured me. He also tore my vehicle key from my belt loop and collected my phone. He ordered me into my Lexus. My fiancée was still in the front passenger seat while I was pushed to the back seat. He pointed the gun at her and warned her not to shout. His gang member remained in their operational vehicle parked at the entrance.”

“As the robber driving my Lexus was reversing out, I quickly opened the door, escaped and started shouting ‘Ole! Ole!’ My fiancée also managed to escape. People around fled for fear of being shot. The robbers sped away with my vehicle. I immediately contacted the person I bought it from, and he posted on social media that it had been stolen.”

“The following morning, we reported the case at the VCRU. To my surprise, they located the vehicle in Iju-Ishaga, Lagos, that same day. We all went there but found no one around it. The operatives stayed there for three days without sleeping, and I was with them.”

“The robbers returned on the third day to move the vehicle after hearing that policemen had visited the area. The operatives pretended to have left. As the robbers arrived with several people, they were arrested and taken to a nearby police station before being moved to Ibadan with the recovered vehicle. My phone was also recovered.”

He said he had bought the Lexus SUV on March 23, 2026, and expressed profound appreciation to the police, saying he never imagined he would recover the vehicle, let alone so quickly.

The second victim, Olawale Olaleye, who encountered the suspects in February, also recounted his experience: “On February 3, at about 10:30 p.m., I was returning from a mall at Bodija. As I turned into Favos Junction, I noticed a vehicle flashing its headlights behind me. Thinking the driver wanted to overtake, I pulled aside. But he continued flashing. When I wound down my window and asked him to pass, he deliberately brushed my vehicle.

“I got down, and we argued over it. He apologised and offered to clean the scratch with brake fluid. He went to his vehicle, brought out the fluid and started cleaning, but the mark remained. He returned to his vehicle again and delayed. I complained that he was wasting my time and moved my Lexus to a brighter spot. When he returned the third time, he came with another man. The second man suddenly pointed a gun at me. I surrendered the key. As I tried to run, the first man grabbed my neck while the gunman struck me on the head with the butt of the gun. I lost consciousness.”

“Fortunately, passers-by recognised me and revived me before taking me home. I reported the case at Bodija Housing Police Station, the SCID and Apata Area Command. The robbers made away with my phone and my Rolex wristwatch worth N1.2 million.”

He said he was overjoyed when informed three weeks earlier that his vehicle had been recovered. “The vehicle had only been shipped into Nigeria in December 2025, and it was stolen less than two months after I bought it,” he said.

The Police Public Relations Officer said investigations are still ongoing to uncover any other criminal activities linked to the suspects.

@ Nigerian Tribune