From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Six suspected armed robbers, comprising five men and one female, who specialised in well-coordinated bank robberies, have been arrested by operatives of the Oyo State Police Command.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mr. Adewale Osifeso, made the disclosure in Ibadan, the state capital, via a press release yesterday.
He said: “In a conscious effort to rid Oyo State of unscrupulous and sinister minded elements, the Oyo State Police Command, in an intelligence led and purposeful driven operation, has identified, tracked and apprehended members of a criminal gang that specialised in carrying out well-coordinated robbery attacks on banks.”
Osifeso explained that preliminary investigation revealed that the alleged criminal gang, comprised Abass Azeez, a 42-year-old man; Mayowa Kehinde, a 29-year-old contract staff and marketer with a new generation bank; Rilwan Eniola, 33; Mistura Akinade, a 33-year-old woman; Abass Aderoju, 41; and Akeem Adeniyi, 37 were all nabbed at their Agara Odo-Ona hideout, along Akala Expressway, Ibadan, on Monday, June 13, 2022, at about 9pm, after concluding plans to execute a bloody bank robbery attack on another new generation bank within the metropolis at the early hours of Tuesday, June 14, 2022.
“The suspects have all confessed their various involvements in the criminal operations, which included arms procurement and clandestine intelligence gathering ahead of the proposed date of perpetrating the dastardly act.
“While comprehensive investigations are in progress to crackdown the criminal network and other accomplices, the Oyo State Police Command enjoins the good people of the state to continue partnering the police in terms of providing timely and credible information valuable in curbing criminality and maintaining the relative tranquility enjoyed in the state.”