From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Twenty six suspects were paraded by the Oyo State Police Command for kidnapping and murder that occurred in the recent time in Ibarapa and Ibadan zones of the state.
The suspects included 11 persons arrested in connection with the murder of a member of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Sherifat Adisa, the owner of Subawah filling station, located along Igbo Ora-Idere Road in Ibarapa Central Local Government of the state.
They were among 50 suspects paraded by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mrs. Ngozi Onadeko, at Eleyele, Ibadan, for offences ranging from kidnapping, murder, armed robbery, arson defilement, and sacrilegious theft to looting.
The 11 suspects comprised nine Fulani and two Yoruba. The two Yoruba among them, Tiamiyu Isah,73, and Rasak Ramon,45, said during interview with journalists that the two of them were employed as guards by the deceased for the filling station, but they fell sick and they were not at work when kidnappers struck at the filling station on January 2. They stated further that they did not know anything about the death of their boss.
The suspects are Abubakar Idris, 22; Shaibu Idi,24; Usman Saliu,20; Rabiu Usman, 23; Umar Usman, 24; Tiamiyu Isah,73; Rasak Ramon, 45; Jare Mohammed,25; Umaru Amadu,30; Kabiru Adamu,25; and Mohammedu Abdullahi,25.
The police boss , however, stated that a notorious kidnapping syndicate that has been terrorising members of the public on Ibarapa axis of the state, invaded Subawah filling station on the fateful day with sophisticated weapons such as AK-47 rifles, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons.
“In the course of the attack, the kidnapper shot sporadically in different directions and in the process, two young girls, who were later identified as Omowumi Babatunde and Kudirat Toriola, were hit by stray bullets and died on the spot.
“The armed bandits later abducted one Alhaja Sherifat Adisa, who is the owner of the filling station, and whisked her into the bush, where they brutally murdered her, after shooting at her severally in the stomach.
“The three deceased victims were later deposited at the morgue by policemen from Igbo-Ora Division, and upon the conclusion of their preliminary investigation, the case was transferred to the Monitoring Unit for more diligent investigation.
“No sooner was the case received than a team of crack police detectives swung into action and arrested nine suspects from their hideouts. On January 5, , further investigation revealed that one of the prime suspects, Jare Mohammed, inserted his Sim Card Number: 07086824526 on the Nokia phone belonging to the deceased, Sherifat, which was carted away from her during the armed robbery operation that claimed her life,” Onadeko said.
Three persons, Dahiru Usman, 35, Muhammed Ahmadu, 32, and Ibrahim Mamuda, 20, also arrested over the abduction and killing of a mecahnised farmer, Oluwole Agboola, at Adegbede village, via Aba-Odo area of Ibadan, Akinyele Local Government were among the paraded suspects.
Onadeko, who also paraded 13 persons arrested for robbery, and eight persons for arson, told journalists that the “armed kidnappers attacked the victim and later took him away to an unknown location, where they subsequently contacted his relatives and collected a ransom of N1,650,000, yet still brutally murdered and abandoned him.
in the bush where he had been held hostage for several days. Discreet investigation carried out by crack police dectectives, led to the arrest of three members of the kidnapping syndicate, who all confessed to the crime.”
Four persons arrested in connection with the kidnap of the incumbent caretaker committee chairman of Iganna Local Council Development Area, Mr. Jacob Adeleke, in October 2020 along Iganna-Ado Awaye Road were also paraded before journalists.
The police boss, who gave the suspects’ names as Babuga Mohammed, 28; Rabiu Muhammadu,37; Usman Mohammed, 30; and Aliyu Mohammed, 26; said they dispossed the council chairman of his personal effects and also collected a ransom of N5.5million, “The victim vividly identified the suspexts, who had confessed to the crime.”