Two soldiers arrested for armed robbery

Two army officials were arrested by the Ondo State Police Command along side four other suspects for alleged armed robbery.

The two, Moruf Oguntade and Adetayo Ogunbadejo, who claimed to privates in the Nigerian Army, were said to operate while in their army uniforms.

Speaking at the police command headquarters on the arrest on Wednesday, the Commissioner of Police, Gbenga Adeyanju, said the suspects were arrested along Akure-Owo expressway in Ogudu Camp, along Emure town.

Mr. Adeyanju said the hoodlums blocked a road leading to the expressway around Emure town in order to rob vehicles or kidnap people during the operation.

He further explained that officials of the state police command received the information about the activities of the robbers and swung into action. That led to the arrest of one the robbers, Jacob Amos, who confessed to the crime and led the police to their hideout.

He noted that although five persons alleged to be members of the gang were arrested, three others were still on the run.

The other suspects paraded include Moses Aleka, Iliyasu Suleiman and Jayeola Ojo.

One of the suspects, Mr. Suleiman, who claimed to be a computer repairer, told journalists that he was invited from Kogi State and lured to the robbery operation by his friends who claimed to be Internet fraudsters popularly known as “Yahoo boys”.

Mr. Suleiman, 37, said he joined the gang of robbers because he needed to raise enough money for his mother’s burial.

“When I came, he told me it was Yahoo. It was when I got to him that it became a different thing, I told them I cannot go out like this, and they said there is no problem,” Mr. Suleiman said.

“It was when we went out that I knew it was a real problem. The village people shouted at us and we ran. I was later arrested by the police.

“I am a repairer of the laptop, he told me to come and that he will teach me how to make faster money with Yahoo. When I came, I asked him, where is the laptop? He said I should not worry. On the eighth day, he said we should stroll out, he gave me a knife, he gave the other guy cutlass and he handled the pistol.

“I am appealing to the police to sympathise with me because of my late mother, I don’t care what they want to do to me I want to witness her burial.”

Items recovered from the suspects include army uniforms, one Beretta pistol, cutlasses, knives, charms, one Hummer SUV and three booklets of Army pass.

The police commissioner, however, said detectives from the command were on the trail of three other members of the gang who would certainly arrested.

Source: ( Premium Times )