An armed robbery gang who has been terrorising Akure, the state capital of Ondo state has been rounded by the Officers and men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the state command.
Speaking to journalists in Akure the Ondo State Commissioner of Police (CP), Isaac Eke, said three members of the gang were arrested while another member believed to be the leader of the gang managed to escape and is being hunted by Police.
He said the three suspects: Olubunmi Ojo, Isaac Fadairo and Adekunle Omonimonwa Ojo were arrested at different locations in Akure and Ekiti state after the gang had robbed one Sola Orisamoluwa of his BMW car valued at about N4 million.
According to him, nemesis caught up with the gang which had snatched the car at gun point from its owner at about 9am on February 4, 2015, leading to officers of SARS hunting them.
He said that Olubunmi Ojo, 27, was arrested few days after through intelligence gathered from the public after the incident, just as information volunteered by the suspect led to the arrest of the other two other suspects.
Eke said the gang has also made away with other valuables including a Tecno handset, an ipad, a drivers’ licence, some shoes and sandals and N22,000 cash.
However, Ojo who spoke to journalists claimed that he was a victim of circumstance, insisted that he bought a GSM phone from one of the suspected robbers without knowing that it had been stolen by the gang from their victim.
He said: “I met Seun (who is at large) and his friends at a beer parlour where i used to relax after the day’s work. He told me of his intention to sell a phone, not knowing that it was stolen at gun point. I never knew any of them; we only met at the beer parlour. I have never involved in any robbery act in my life, not to talk of robbing at gun point.”
Another suspect, Falegan from Ekiti who claimed to be a driver, said he was not involved in the robbery incident but was contacted by the leader of the group, Seun, to do the necessary documentation on the vehicle which he did not know was stolen.
He said Seun brought the car to him in Ado Ekiti while he promised to send money for the process of registration and documentation as soon as possible, adding that Seun could not come up with the N35,000 needed to do the registration on time.
Falegan further claimed that the gang leader only deposited N10,000 into his account and he was awaiting the balance to commence the registration when the police arrested him in Ado Ekiti.
However, the third suspect, Adekunle, who said he came from Abuja and who admitted participating in the crime, claimed he was not informed about the operation until Seun stopped the driver of the car at gun point.
He insisted that he happened to be with the gang at the time and that there was no way he could back out at the scene of the crime, just as he admitted to having driven the car to Ado Ekiti and kept it in the custody of Falegan who promised to get the car registered by the end of the week.
Adekunle further disclosed that the gang were planning to sell off the car at the sum of N700,000 to any unsuspecting buyer before nemesis caught up with them stating,
“I was waiting to have my share of the proceeds before traveling back to Abuja when the police arrested me. The gang leader, Seun, got wind of our arrest and left the town. Though I knew what we did was criminal, it was too late for me to back out.”