The Oyo State police command has paraded suspected criminals arrested in different parts of the state, including suspected bandits/kidnappers who operated from the Old Oyo Forest Reserve on the Igbeti/Kisi Road in Oke-Ogun and some money doublers who duped unsuspecting victims at Igboho town.
Speaking during the parade of the suspects at the police headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, on Thursday, the state Commissioner of Police, Joe Nwachukwu Enwonwu, said the arrest of the suspected bandits followed three days of combing the Kishi forest by operatives of the command and vigilance group members.
CP Enwonwu said the suspects are the same people who the Aare Ona Kakanfo, Iba Gani Adams, alerted the authorities about their activities at Oke-Ogun area, just as he sought for more cooperation between the police and members of the public in other to reduce crime in the state.
Speaking further, Enwonwu said: “The hoodlums had intercepted some cattle dealers with sophisticated weapons on September 15 at about 6:00 p.m.
“The armed robbers cum kidnappers later contacted their victims’ relatives and collected ransom before they were released.
“As soon as the incident was reported at the Kishi divisional headquarters, I mobilised a team of police personnel from Igbeti Area Command, State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operatives and other tactical teams alongside vigilance group members from Kishi and Igbeti to hunt for the armed robbers and rescue the other victims who were still in their captivity.
“Three members of the gang were later arrested inside the thick forest with five AK-49 rifles, 83 live ammunition, eight magazines, nine mobile phones and N77,800 belonging to some of their victims.”
Also arrested were members of a fake loan syndicate who had duped residents of Igboho of about N2,700,00, before disappearing from the town and moving to Badagry in Lagos State to continue with their crime.
Following complaints about the activities of the syndicate to the police, SARS operatives trailed the syndicate to Badagry, where they were already operating the same fake scheme.
In Igboho, the syndicate operated under the name, Noble City Global Concept, while it used Achievers Nicor Fund Social Economic Development Scheme in Badagry.
A victim of the scheme in Igboho, who did not want his name in print, said when the syndicate got to the town last August, “they said they wanted to assist us with loans.
“They said for N100,000, we would pay N14,000, while for N200,000, we would pay N21,000 and N41,000 for N300,000.
“A lot of people subscribed for the loan after paying the money demanded and it was just a day before we were to receive the loans that they disappeared from the town.
“We later informed the police who trailed them to Badagry in Lagos State, where they were arrested while operating the same scheme.”
Tribune Online reports that leader of the gang, Kola (surname withheld), confessed to the crime.
He blamed his activities on his employment and the need to survive at all cost.
He further said five persons worked for him.
