A 27-year-old notorious bank robbery suspect, Ikadoi Isere, alias White Witch, who was arrested recently by operative of the Inspector- General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT, stunned Crime Alert during an exclusive interview by disclosing that he was appointed a Special Adviser to Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake d!ckson, on Oil and Gas matters, prior to his arrest.

The confession is so shocking that I am forced to wonder just the kind of characters we have in the government...

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A native of Nambe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the suspect was arrested alongside two others; Daniel Gogo, aka Full-Payment and Ifeanyi Kalu. They were accused of participating in no fewer than 15 bank and bullion van robbery and kidnappings across Port-Harcourt, Rivers State and some South East States.

Police sources disclosed that three Ak47 rifles, a Lar rifle, 360 rounds of live ammunitions, 20 magazines, five dynamites, two pistols, a rifle servicing equipment and three exotic cars, were recovered from the suspects after their hideouts were raided in Bayelsa State.

N400m loot

The source who spoke on the condition of anonymity stated; “White Witch and members of his gang had killed over 20 policemen and made away with their rifles in separate robbery operations within Port-Harcourt City, between 2012 and 2016.” He described the gang as one of the city’s most dreaded robbery gangs, identifying, Daniel Gogo, who is popularly known as Full-Payment, as the leader.

The source further disclosed that having gathered credible intelligence on the gang’s activities between 2012 and 2016, operatives trailed them to Bayelsa State, where they were arrested and large catch of arms and ammunitions were recovered from them. They reportedly confessed during interrogations that they made over N400million from robbing several banks and bullion vans, including kidnappings of prominent businessmen, civil servants and oil workers across Port-Harcourt.

Confession of gang leader

The leader of the gang, Gogo alias Full-Payment, told Crime Alert that he invested a large chunk of his share of the loot in setting up a local oil refinery within the creeks of Bayelsa State, while his patner, Isere, alias White Witch, stated that he invested a large share of his loots on his siblings, wife and his aged mother. He added that he also used some in sponsoring the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the last General Election in Bayelsa State.

He explained that he mobilized people to vote for PDP and used the gang’s rifles to protect electoral materials during the last Governorship Election at Nembe Local Government Area of the State. White Witch told Crime Alert that he joined the gang in 2010, when one of his elder brothers who is a member of Vikings Confraternity, linked him to the gang leader called Full-Payment, in Port-Harcourt.

“I am a member of Icelander Confraternity and I am the executioner in-charge of Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. My elder brother IJB, who is also a member of Vikings linked me to my boss, Full-Payment, who is also a member of Vikings and he asked him to assist me.
He accepted and brought me into the gang. At that time, I was highly frustrated because after I finished learning underwater welding through the Presidential Amnesty Program, I had no job.

I wasn’t getting the complete amount from the stipend given to ex-militants of the Niger Delta. Before the money will get to me, it has gone through several persons and when I will receive mine, it will remain only N20, 000. There was nothing I could do with such an amount. I have a wife and children to fend for and my siblings are still in school and they are looking up to me

“After that operation, my boss told us that he was quitting and everyone should go and look for what to do with their money. When I got home, I bought a car, rented a big apartment and I decided to go into politics. My boss also told me that he wanted to set up a local refinery so I linked him to one of my uncles who was also into such business. Before the 2015 election, I and my boss had meetings with some of the political heavy weights in Nembe Local Government and we offered to work for them during the election.

To show them that I was serious, we assured that we were going to bring out our arms, ammunition and money to support them and they promised to give me pipeline surveillance contract in my area. But one month before the election, I became very broke and my boss has also invested all his money into his local refinery business, we were left with no other option than to go for one more operation.

During elections

“When it was time for election, we brought in lots of boys, from Rivers, Delta and Imo States to work for PDP, Bayelsa State and we paid them with our own money. After the election, I was appointed a Personal Assistant to the Chairman of Nembe Local Government Area, who gave me a Toyota Hilux van with a government plate number. I was also linked to the Bayelsa State Deputy Governor.

By October of that same year, some of our gang members became very broke and they called on my boss, Full-Payment, asking him to allow them do one last job which would fetch us enough money to enable us quit robbery, completely. Our informant told us that money was to be supplied to a bank on Trans-Amadi Road Port-Harcourt.

Time to finally quit

“In December, when the governorship election came, I was given N3million by PDP and I brought in my boys and we worked for them. We ensured that all electoral materials were intact and we prevented people from the opposition party from snatching ballot boxes.

We also had some policemen working for us during that election. Between January and February, 2016, While I was waiting for PDP to fulfil the promises they made to me, and my boss was still nursing his injury, I took our rifles from Bayelsa State with the government Hilux van that was given to me and police escort and organized our boys.

And the Ultimate Shocker

“Two weeks before my arrest, I was been shortlisted as a Special Adviser to Bayelsa State Governor, and we were waiting for him to return from his trip abroad so that he would swear us into our various offices. I did not know that the police got to know about my activities.

I was shocked when they trailed me to my house and arrested me and I took them to my boss and he was arrested too. They recovered our arms and ammunition,” he lamented.

culled from Vanguard