Oyewunmi Musa an armed robber and leader of a group of thugs who kidnap people and then ransom them back to their loved ones, said his gang made N8.5m in 4 operations.
He and 55 suspects were paraded by Ahmed Iliyasu, the State Police Commissioner, at their headquarters in Eleweran Abeokuta on Tuesday. Musa was paraded with 10 members of his squad and they admitted to 4 kidnappings.
They are being charged for a number of offences ranging from kidnapping to armed robbery, murder, cultism and illegal possession of firearms
When talking about the sums they were paid for the ransoms Musa stated: “In the first operation we got N3m ransom, in the second, we got N2.5m and for the third and fourth, we got N1.5m ransom respectively from their relatives.”
Two gang members would travel from Ughelli to join the gang anytime there was an operation.
According to Iliyasu the gang’s downfall came on the 5th January 2018, when a member of the gang Femi Aresu was arrested at their hideout in Itele-Ijebu by agents of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and from a tip-off they were able to apprehend the rest of the gang.
The gang robbers kept the abductees in the bush till the ransoms were paid.
The arrests had occurred between December 2017 and January 2018 in what Iliyasu called ‘operation mop up.’
“No fewer than 42 arms, including AK47 rifles, Pump Action guns and locally made Omade pistols, as well as 396 ammunition, were recovered from them.
Also recovered were 8 vehicles snatched at different robbery operations” Iliyasu said.
The Ogun police boss has assured the public that arrests would be continued to be made until all the criminals has been flushed out of their hideouts.
“We are not going to rest on our oars and the battle will be taken to doorsteps of the criminals and men of the underworld until Ogun State is rid of all sorts of crimes.”