Mariam Adesola
A 20-year-old hairdressing apprentice in Agege area of Lagos,
sobbed uncontrollably as she sat on the ground inside the premises of
the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja cursing herself. The
fair-skinned woman identified as Mariam Adesola was apprehended because
of her trademark tattoo.
According to the police, that specific tattoo is the identity of
members of the Awawa gang operating in Agege area of Lagos. She was
subsequently arrested with many others belonging to the dreaded robbery
gang.
While recounting her pain, Adesola said she was merely a victim of
her love for tattoos. As she said, her willingness to readily obey her
husband when he instructed her to get a specific tattoo landed her in
this trouble.
The police revealed that a few suspects and members of the gang,
who had been arrested in the past, confessed that the teardrop tattoo is
the mark by which they identify their members.
The members of Awawa (loosely translated as ‘we are alive’)
have become notorious in recent times. The group has become dreaded and
in the last two years, have gained a reputation as a ruthless band of
robbers unleashing mayhem, looting shops and attacking residents at
gunpoint in Agege area of Lagos without fear. The gang of robbers are
known for their numbers. They usually operate in large numbers.
It was gathered that Adesola whose husband is a member of the gang
and being held in the police station served as an informant for the
dreaded robbery gang.
Her luck ran out when she walked into the Isokoko Police Division,
Agege, to see her husband who was also in custody. She was oblivious
that her identity had already been made known to the police.
According to Punch, police told journalists that the information
they got from other captured members of the gang was that she was the
one sent around the neighbourhood to identify potential targets of their
robbery operations.
“I don’t know what the police are talking about. I am just a
hairdresser. My husband told me to get the tattoo because he has it too.
I liked the tattoo and I decided to get it on my face. Now it has
destroyed my life," she said.
“The day I was arrested, I had only gone to see him in police
custody. Then they arrested me. The police said they had been looking
for me. I am in trouble.”
However, she was quickly countered by one of the men paraded with her who said she was lying.
Also arrested was a 19-year-old Saheed Oyedeji. He also has the
same tattoo. He however denied ever knowing that a gang like Awawa
existed. Oyedeji's story was debunked immediately by a victim who was
present during the parade of the suspects by the police, as she quickly
pointed out to journalists that she recognised Oyedeji as the one who
slapped her sister hard in the face when the Awawa gang attacked their
house recently.
“I am just a barber. I have nothing to do with the Awawa Boys. I
got the tattoo not long ago and it is nothing more than ‘fashion’ for
me,” he said.
The Awawa gang has notoriety so much so that a Facebook group,
Anti-Awawa Boys in Agege, has been opened as a discussion forum for
residents of the community on the gang’s activities.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, said a
recent robbery carried out by the gang culminated in the arrest of the
suspects.
He explained that the information on the tattoo used as
identification mark by the gang would help in tracking down other
members of the gang.
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