Ex-footballer arrested for leading robbery gang

A self acclaimed ex-footballer with Niger Tornadoes has been arrested for leading a car-snatching robbery gang.

An ex-Nigerian footballer has been nabbed by the police for armed robbery. (Juliana Francis)

An armed robbery suspect in the custody of the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja, Nura Muhammed, who claimed to be an ex-footballer with the Niger Tornadoes Football Club of Minna, was among the eight-man robbery gang paraded at the command headquarters by the Commissioner, Kayode Aderanti.


The 33-year-old former footballer, who confessed to the crime, said he was actually a reciever of the stolen cars including a Honda CRV Sports Utility vehicle (SUV) 2013 model, belonging to Lagos-based Channels Television, that was snatched in January this year.

Muhammed said he started receiving stolen cars in 201 and that he has received over 14 cars since he started the business.

Hear him:

"I was a cow dealer in Lagos. I was selling cows at Agege abattoir, but sometime in 2005, I incurred a debt of about N2.6 million. I ran away from Lagos when I could not pay up my debt and my creditor was looking for me.

When I left Lagos, I went to Abuja, where I stayed briefly. I left Abuja for Minna, Niger State and in 2011, I joined Niger Tornadoes Football Club. I was paid N150,000 monthly. Our coach then was Landa Bosso.

A year later, I quit football when I sustained injury on my leg and went back to Abuja where I started a football viewing centre.

It was a young man who sold soft drinks beside my viewing centre that first introduced me into the business of receiving stolen vehicles.

I was arrested in 2012 for receiving a stolen car and I left Abuja for Kano, my home town after I was released by the police.

It was while I was in Kano that I ran into one Tony, who was also a receiver of stolen cars. He introduced me to Ejike, the leader of our car snatching syndicate.

I bought about seven cars from Ejike. The police arrested one of my boys when he came to collect the Honda CRV.

I didn’t know that the car belongs to Channels Television. It was my boy who was arrested that brought the policemen to my place in Kano.

After my arrest, I was brought to Lagos where I assisted the police in the arrest of other members of our gang."