The leader of an armed robbery gang, Ogaga Dickson, who was born in Sapele and killed a Divisional Police Officer in Delta State Police Command alongside his gang, has revealed how he first joined a band of thieves before expanding his illegal activities to include stealing cars at gunpoint.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
On October 14, 2024, Dickson also discussed the robbery operation that resulted in a run-in with the law and the death of CSP Hassan Jega, the DPO of Agbarho Division. He claimed that his gang was aware that the police officer had fallen during the gunfight but was unaware that he was a DPO.
But on November 1, 2024, less than three weeks after the DPO was killed, Dickson was taken into custody by members of the Nigeria Police Force’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT), demonstrating their proficiency in obtaining intelligence and pursuing suspects. Chibike Umeh, the purchaser of the seized and stolen cars, was also taken into custody.
On Monday, January 6, the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, paraded the suspects, including the alleged cop killer, to highlight the police’s successes in apprehending suspects and dismantling criminal organizations.
Dickson, 35, was the head of a renowned armed robbery syndicate that killed the DPO of Delta’s Agbarho Division, CSP Jega, during a bloody gunfight between the attackers and a group of police officers led by the deceased DPO, the Force PRO revealed while parading the suspect. Four gang members were neutralized after the operatives attacked the group’s hideout and engaged them in a hard gunfight, according to ACP Adejobi.
He stated that six exotic automobiles, one AK-47 weapon, one English and one local-made handgun, as well as ammo of different calibers, were found by the police.
Dickson described how he entered the world of crime in an interview: “Before my friend John Linus introduced me to stealing automobiles from where they are parked, I was a welder. He and I met at Sapele. I joined a welding company like mine, thus I had financial difficulties there. I quit once my pay was cut. John and I had met before the problem. One day after we got off work, John’s car broke down while I was with him. We exchanged numbers and assisted him. We became friends, and if I needed financial assistance, he would give me money.
I called John after losing my welding job and asked him to assist me find another one. He extended an invitation for me to visit his home in Warri. In response to his question, I said that I could drive. He claimed that he wanted to offer me a car so that I could deliver something.
John failed to inform me that the car was taken the first time. He told me that he was using a master key to open parked cars at night and steal them for the second time. Since I didn’t have a job at the time and I thought the operations would be beneficial, I had no choice but to follow him.
After two months or so, John’s squandering of the proceeds from the sale of the stolen cars infuriated me. I reasoned that if John kept spending extravagantly in clubs after the cars were sold, nobody would be able to have anything in life. He had shown me how to use the master key before. He had also put me in touch with the people who bought the stolen cars. I so broke away from him and began the heist by myself.
“I was accompanied by Ebimoh, an Ijaw friend. I knew him at Sapele, but he was staying in Bayelsa State. Like when I was with John, we began stealing parked cars in Sapele and Warri in November 2023. Ebimoh eventually questioned me about the purchasers’ interest in exotic cars. I informed him that since a master key could not be used for such vehicles, we would require firearms to seize them from their owners. I thought his idea was good.
A few days later, Ebimoh departed and came back at night with three firearms: an English handgun, a locally manufactured handgun, and an AK-47 rifle. In addition, he carried 40 “seeds” (bullets) for the handguns and three fully loaded AK-47 magazines. In January 2024, we began car snatching in this manner. How our first armed robbery operation was executed
At nine o’clock at night, we grabbed the first automobile in Abraka. Our approach was to determine how many people were inside the intended car. We wouldn’t confront them if there were more than two of them, but we would follow them to their destination if it was just the owner or he had a female buddy.
We took the Lexus 350 Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) at gunpoint in Abraka. The driver and his girlfriend were in the car. I used my master key to steal my Toyota Corolla, which we followed him in. We approached him before the gatekeeper could unlock his house’s gate when he arrived. The owner of the car simply came down with his girlfriend as soon as he noticed us, raising his hands in surrender at the sight of our firearms.
We took his phone, his girlfriend’s phone, and the car key. I was aware that he could use his phone to deactivate the car’s tracking system. I looked through the car, located the tracker, and demobilized it before we went for Warri. I removed tracking devices from cars with ease because I had learned how to do it. I also did it with vehicles that had been stolen from their parking spaces.
“The person who was later arrested by the IRT purchased the Lexus 350 from me for N9 million.” I divided it equally with Ebimoh after deducting funds for fuel and other costs. I went to collect a friend, Gabriel, who also phoned a Samson he knew to join us after the operation because Ebimoh, who had completed his paperwork, had left Nigeria for Canada. A Mercedes Benz GLE SUV was stolen in the second operation. The buyer made a N10 million payment.
“I got into difficulty after my latest operation, which was in October 2024. We proceeded to Agbarho in Warri after stealing a Toyota Hilux from its owner in Sapele. Gabriel and Samson, who were on guard, spotted a police van as I was looking through the car to take the tracker off. They warned me right away.
Gabriel and Samson opened fire on the police van as it drew closer. I dashed into the adjacent bush. One of the police officers was struck by a gunshot fired by one of my gang members during a gunfight with the cops. We were unaware that it was the DPO at the time. The operatives backed off when they realized one of them had been struck. With haste, we climbed into the Hilux and sped away.
“A woman was the buyer of the Hilux, which we sold for N10.5 million. We took it, she knew. She was someone I knew who bought stolen cars. I was taken into custody by her. How I got arrested
I had been getting ready to go to Canada prior to the most recent operation. My paperwork was nearly ready, and I had recovered from the armed robbery operation after capturing the Hilux. I had already grabbed one Lexus 330 before that. I sold the Corolla I was driving to a Bayelsa resident. I was instructed to sell the Lexus for the woman who purchased the Hilux. When my travel documents were ready, I went to Bayelsa to bury my gang’s weapons and made plans to fly to Lagos State from there.
“I requested that the individual who wished to pick up the Lexus from me come see me the next morning. I had no idea that he and the woman had been arrested along with the Hilux. She promised to come get the Lexus in Bayelsa when she called. But IRT agents showed up, and I was taken into custody.
Umeh, a 39-year-old Abia State native who purchased the stolen and abducted cars, also described his involvement in this way: “I live in Enugu State.” I sold jewelry. Two years ago, I started purchasing stolen cars. John Linus was introduced to me by Kingsley, one of my customers who was in the military. I’m not sure if he still works there. I informed him that the cars we were looking at were really pricey and that a buddy needed a car. He informed me that he had a friend who would sell for me at a low price at that point. He revealed to me that master keys were being used to steal the cars that John sold.
It was Kingsley who arranged for a man to prepare the paperwork and register the car. John accompanied me to Warri and sold the Toyota Corolla for N1 million after I told him I needed one. I handed the soldier N200,000 as his part and N100,000 to obtain the required paperwork after selling it to the individual in need for N1.8 million. I took N500,000.
That inspired me to start a car sales company. I stopped buying when John was arrested. Dickson approached me last year to inquire whether he needed a car. “I need them,” I informed him. He began occasionally bringing me Toyota Corollas, which I was purchasing.
I purchased the first and second one even though I saw that the exotic car he brought couldn’t have been unlocked with a master key from its parking spot. I then made a video call to him and observed him smoking and seated on a chair with an AK-47 gun in his hand. I stopped purchasing from him at that point. When I was caught in Anambra, I hadn’t sold the two cars I had purchased from him. He gave me a Toyota Corolla, which I took to a painter. Police in Anambra confronted me and accused me of selling stolen cars. I was unaware that Dickson had been taken into custody.
The Sunday Tribune learned that the Delta Police Command had also taken Dickson’s other gang members, Gabriel and Samson, into custody.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
