Big trouble for kidnappers, robbers operating along Ibadan-Lagos Expressway
…As criminals threatening banks in Oyo meet waterloo
The community of Onigari along the Ibadan/Lagos Expressway and Onidundu community in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State were engulfed in ecstatic celebration recently when operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Oyo State Police Command arrested over 15 suspected armed robbers and kidnappers who had been terrorising the communities and kidnapping passengers in the area as well as on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The arrested suspects were alleged to have also raped female victims, collected their ATM cards and transferred victims’ money into their own bank accounts. It was further gathered that the suspects usually took their captives to their hideouts where they were held hostage for at least five days.
This newspaper learnt that the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Oyo State Police Command rescued over ten victims while other victims escaped from the kidnappers’ hideouts along Ibadan/Lagos Expressway as well as in Owo and Ikare-Akoko towns in Ondo State following the arrest of the kidnappers.
Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Adebowale Williams told Saturday Sun that the command has been having serious encounters with armed robbers and kidnappers since July this year. That month, he recalled, the command had received several complaints from the public over the activities of armed robbers and kidnappers along Ibadan/Lagos Expressway..
“We had to redeploy some members of our tactical teams to the Ibadan/Lagos Expressway, having through intelligence gathered information on the activities of kidnappers and armed robbers in the axis. On August 11, police operatives stormed their hideouts along the Ibadan/Lagos Expressway and arrested six suspected armed robbers and kidnappers. They are Abubakar Mohammed, 22; Batune Garba, 30; Mohammed Mocher, 27; Illiyasu Lawal, 26; Mammaji Adamu, 25, and Samaila Musa, 30. They all confessed to have carried out series of kidnapping and armed robbery operations along Ibadan/Lagos Expressway,” he explained.
CP Williams said that on July 30, 2022, the gang attacked some vehicles with passengers along Ibadan/Lagos Expressway around 7:30pm during which the suspects collected all the victims’ phones and ATM Cards.
“On August 8, 2022, the same gang operated along the Onigari axis when they robbed some passengers who were stranded when their vehicle had a mechanical problem. And while waiting for their vehicle to be put in proper shape, the hoodlums came and robbed them of their valuable items. They then took some of the men into their hideout inside the forest and demanded ransom from them.
“The police operatives who were on patrol ran to the scene of the crime and had an encounter with the hoodlums. Two were shot dead while some escaped with bullet wounds. They rescued five victims in the forest along Ibadan/Lagos Expressway, as the criminals had abandoned the victims when they heard gunshots,” he said.
The police boss again recalled that on August 9, the Police Monitoring Unit on routine surveillance patrol had an encounter with armed robbers that attacked and invaded a Point of Sale (POS) shop, dispossessed the owner, one Abass Taiwo of a huge sum of money and ten assorted mobile phones belonging to his customers.
He said his men had an encounter with the hoodlums, arrested one identified as Olusola Ibrahim in Ibadan axis and recovered some locally-made guns and pistols from him.
Williams said the suspect confessed to have been involved in a series of armed robberies and kidnapping on Ibadan/Lagos Expressway.
“Also, on August 1, 2022, another gang robbed victims along the Ibadan/Lagos Expressway in Ogere when they robbed some victims in their vehicle and took the victims to the Sagamu – Ijebu Ode Expressway. Through information, the Federal Highway Patrol with other police tactical teams swung into action and gave them a hot chase, during which they had a gun duel.
“Four suspects were shot dead while other gang members escaped with phones and ATM cards inside the forest, and the police rescued the victims unhurt.
“On August 2, the Police Monitoring Unit arrested a suspected kidnap kingpin, one Olowokere Joshua, 27, in his hideout at Warake village, Auchi area of Edo State. He had been involved in several kidnappings with his gang members. He also threatened one Dr Olatunde Oladoyinbo that he was going to kidnap him and his family,” the police boss explained.
CP Williams said his tactical team monitoring unit got the information and swung into action and arrested the suspect in his hideout in Edo State. He said they recovered one Tecno Spark 4 cell phone and some arms and ammunitions from him.
The police commissioner further informed that earlier, on May 23, 2022, one Adams Modasiru was arrested alongside a stolen truck at Ojoo area of Ibadan, where he wanted to sell the vehicle to one Moses Adeyemo and Salami Isiaka at the rate of N2.5 million after presenting a fake document as the owner of the truck.
He said on July 30, a gang had operated in Owo, Ondo State, robbing some innocent victims of their valuable items. The gang, he said, had also robbed some vehicles along the Owo- Ikare Road. The gang members collected the victims’ ATM cards and money and immediately transferred all the victims’ money to their own bank accounts. They also raped some of the female victims. He further informed that when the police operatives got to the scene, the hoodlums ran into their hideout.
CP Williams said that the hoodlums who operated in Owo and Ikare Akoko, axis of Ondo State later stormed the Ibadan/Lagos Expressway and carried out another operation on August 1, 2022.
“They stopped a 14-seater bus and robbed the passengers. But through the help of some good Samaritans, who raised the alarm, operatives of the Federal Highway Patrol swung into action and had a gun duel with the robbers and kidnappers. Three were killed while others escaped with bullet wounds. The victims were rescued from the scene.
CP Williams said that they have redeployed some of the tactical team to be on patrol on the Ibadan/Lagos Expressway to checkmate the hoodlums from the highway. He warned criminals to relocate from Oyo State, saying the state would be too hot for them. He said all the arrested suspects would soon be charged to court.
One of the suspects, Illiyasu Lawal told Saturday Sun: “I hail from Kaduna State. I have been involved in several kidnappings and armed robberies along Ibadan/Lagos Expressway with my other gang members. We would stand at different spots on the expressway. We started operating on the Ibadan/Lagos Expressway four years ago. We have kidnapped over seven victims on the road, but we didn’t kill the victims. We were only concerned about the ransom from the victims. We always collect the victims’ ATM cards and valuable items and would quickly transfer their money into our bank accounts.
“The policemen on Ibadan/Lagos Expressway had killed some of our gang members, but we were able to regroup. We recruited new members while some gangs who operated in Owo, Ondo state joined us in the operation on Ibadan/Lagos Expressway. We were arrested during another operation along Ibadan/Lagos expressway. They recovered some arms and ammunitions from us.”
Another suspect, Olowokere Joshua also spoke with Saturday Sun. He said: “I hail from Edo state. I am a one-man squad. I always use my Whatsapp phone to threaten victims on their WhatsApp phones and threaten to kidnap them. Immediately, the victim will send some money to my bank account. I have duped over five victims and collected from some of them N500, 000, N800, 000 and N300,000 which they paid into my bank account. It was when I made another threat on Whatsapp to a victim, one Dr Olatunde Oladoyinbo and threatened to kill him, his wife and children if he did not pay me N20 million that the bubble burst. While I was expecting him to pay into my bank account, policemen came from Oyo State to arrest me in Auchi in Edo State. I want the policemen to forgive me. I will never do such again.”
Meanwhile, operatives of the Monitoring Unit of Oyo State Police Command have arrested a suspected kidnapper, 37-year-old Olarinde Adekunle within the Owode area of Oyo, Oyo State. He was alleged to have sent handwritten notes and notification to the management of a private university, threatening to abduct three of its students unless the management of the institution pays a N10 million ransom.
The same man was also alleged to have sent same threatening letters to new generation banks in the ancient community.
Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adebowale Williams told Saturday Sun that the operatives of the monitoring unit had intercepted Adekunle, whose mode of operation, he said, was to run detailed background checks on unsuspecting victims and then inform them through writing of his intention to abduct them unless a stipulated amount of money could be sourced and paid to him.
He explained that Adekunle recently sent a threatening note to a private university in Oyo town, and, expectedly, the threat disrupted academic activities within the university, stirring up panic and uncertainty within the university community.
The police boss stated that there was discreet forensic-based information that first led to the arrest of one Azeez Muftau, whose phone numbers were inscribed on the handwritten notes sent to both the school’s management and the banks. He said the suspect confirmed that the phone number on the note was his but denied being the author of the documents.
He said the investigation further later led to Adekunle’s arrest on August 11, 2022, informing that he was arrested in Oyo town and is currently in the custody of the Oyo State Police Command where he’s undergoing investigation.
In a chat, Olarinde Adekunle confessed to Saturday Sun that he authored the handwritten notes and that the other man, Azeez Muftau was used as decoy for the purpose of concealing his direct involvement.
“This is my first time,” he told the reporter. “I wanted to carry out the operation with other members of my gang in Oyo town. We had notified different institutions and all the new generation banks. We wanted to carry out the operations on August 11, 2022, but police operatives arrested us.
“We wanted to kidnap some students in various institutions in Oyo town and demand N10 million as ransom. We knew that the relatives of the victims and university management would pay but everything was foiled at the end of the day by the police operatives.
“I hail from Oyo State. Since I was arrested, some of my gang members have escaped from their hideouts. I have confessed to the police operatives,” he said.
The CP said that the police only recovered one Tecno mobile phone and paper on which he had sketched a diagram on how to kidnap the students.
He said the suspect was still under investigation and that he would be charged to court after conclusion of investigation.
