A suspected leader of a notorious armed robbery gang, Nasim Aliu has confessed that he got his power from a magical tortoise.
Aliu was arrested with the fetish tortoise by the operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Kogi State police command after several months of trailing his movements.
Aliu who hails from Agheva Obehira in Okehi Local Government Area of the state said he had operated for more than 12 times with the magical tortoise but expressed surprise how the operatives of SARS arrested him cheaply.
According to Sun Newspaper, He said: “Yes, I am a leader of a robbery gang which robbed on major highways in Kogi and Edo States, we had operated for more than 12 times Successfully without being caught and the success of these robberies was as a result of the protection of this tortoise.
“Anytime I wanted to go for robbery operation, I would consult the tortoise who will tell me whether the robbery would be successful or not. After saying some incantation to it, the tortoise would speak and tell me to go or not to go.
“In serious operation, I would hang the tortoise on my chest, covering it with my shirt and anytime I did that ,it helped to protect me from bullets. No enemy’s bullets can hit me any time I hang it on my chest.”
Aliu who looked ruffled, touched the tortoise in the presence of newsmen and retorted, “but you my great magical tortoise, you failed to tell me that the police were around the corner of my house, you failed to speak and you failed to give your usual signs.” He looked up and said: “It is now that I believe this adage ‘every day for the thief, one day for the owner.”
Speaking on the arrest, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu said Aliu and his gang members had been terrorising innocent motorists for a long time, saying they specialised in robbing along Lokoja/ Okene, and Okene/Auchi/ Benin high ways.