Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Twenty criminal suspects, comprising 10 armed robbers, kidnappers and a murderer, have been arrested by the men of Oyo State Police Command.
Commissioner of Police Shina Olukolu, who paraded the suspects before journalists at Eleyele, Ibadan, on Tuesday, said the Command recorded the breakthroughs within the last three weeks as a result of the support of the people and proactive measures put in place by officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force.
The first set of suspects paraded were Ibrahim Mohammed, m, 30; Kasimu Salisu, m, 27; Buhari Musa, m, 35; Shago Blakky, m; and Folorunsho Elijah, m.
All are accused of armed robbery and kidnapping. They are suspected to have kidnapped two sisters of the same parents who got married in a poultry farm at Badeku Village, Egbeda area of Ibadan on March 16th.
The kidnap victims are Mrs Omobola Adepoju, who came back from the United States a few months ago, and her elder sister, Mrs Abiodun Ifeoluwa, who are daughters of a former Director of Sports, old Western State, and Proprietor, Subuola Memorial Nursery/Primary School, Ibadan, the late Chief Emiola Adesina.
The suspects, who allegedly dispossessed the two sisters of their mobile phones and some amount of money at gunpoint, reportedly released the victims after collecting ransom. But the suspects were said to have been arrested in their hideout at Adam’s Bar and Lodge, Bodija Market area, Ibadan. and other locations in Sokoto State.
The suspects are said to have confessed to the crime and a series of previous criminal activities they had masterminded within Oyo State. Five Bajaj motorcycles and N730,000, according to Olukolu, were also recovered from them.
The second group of armed robbery/kidnapping suspects comprised of Usman Umar, m, 24; Shaibu Haruna, m, 20; Lawal Haruna, m, 24; Usman Dahiru Haruna, m, 28; and Aliyi Mohammed, m, 18. No exhibit had been recovered from them as of this report. They were reportedly also arrested at Adam’s Bar and Lodge, Bodija, Ibadan, after they allegedly robbed and kidnapped Mrs Mary Dada Oyeladun at her residence Bode Thomas Estate, Oyo town on March 17th.
The victim, however, regained her freedom after her husband had allegedly paid N1 million in ransom to her kidnappers. The suspects also reportedly confessed to the crime and are still helping the police in their investigation.
One Abegunde Olaniyi, m, 34, was also presented to the press for allegedly attacking, robbing and killing his boss, Mrs Grace Ajibola, an evangelist with Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Imole, Agbeni, Ibadan, at her residence at Oluyole area of the city.
“The criminal assailant, who had been an ‘errand boy’ to the victim, hit her with a wooden object, strangulated her and later carted away her Tecno cell phone and her three ATM cards, having discovered a huge sum of money of about N2 million in the victim’s bank account when the victim sent him to withdraw money for her via the ATM in one of the new generation banks at Apata area, Ibadan,” Olukolu said.
The commissioner added that the suspect was later arrested by the police at his hideout in Akure, the Ondo State capital, and that the Tecno cell phone, two ATM cards belonging to the victim and the wooden object which he purportedly used to kill the victim have been recovered. The suspect, upon interrogation, said he had withdrawn N120,000 from the victim’s bank account before he was arrested.
