Ogun: Police arrest 116 robbers in six months

Ogun: Police arrest 116 robbers in six months

The Ogun State Police Command says it arrested 116 armed robbers across the state in the last six months.

The state Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, stated this at the command’s headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, adding that the command was fully prepared for the Yuletide.

He said seven armed robbers were killed during operations carried out by his men in the period under review.

Still reeling out other achievements of the command, he said a total of 125 ammunition, 69 vehicles and 45 arms were recovered, while 205 alleged cult members and 38 rape suspects were apprehended.

He said out of the total number of 980 suspects arrested for various offences, 490 were charged to court, while the command got 48 convictions.

Ali warned that as Yuletide approached, his command would not tolerate any form of criminality.

He warned that the use of bangers and other fireworks would not be tolerated in the state.

He said, “The command wishes to send a note of warning to those who are fond of using bangers and other fireworks to desist from the acts as the law banning their use or sales is still in force. Anyone caught in possession of any of the aforementioned fireworks will be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.”

The commissioner also said carnivals which involved blocking of roads and streets and extortion of road users would not be allowed, as offenders would be treated as armed robbers.

He said, “We will not allow blockage of streets. Any person who blocks the road or makes a road inaccessible to its users will be treated like an armed robber, as such act is tantamount to armed robbery.”

Ali later paraded a fake soldier and 34 other suspected criminals.

Parading the 29-year-old fake soldier, Emmanuel Abiodun, Ali said he was arrested at the Redemption Camp, on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, with two toy guns in his possession.

Abiodun said he had been acting as an escort to pastors in Port Harcourt, and had escorted a pastor to the Redemption Camp, before he was arrested on Thursday, December 10, 2015.

The suspect said, “I had come out to receive a call outside the Redemption Camp when a retired general saw me and challenged me. Later, I was arrested and handed over to the police.”

Abiodun, who claimed to be a merchant navy, said he did not regret his action because “I have always wanted to be a soldier.”

Ali also said the men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, acting on a tip-off on Friday December 18, swooped on a truck conveying hemp along Ajuwon-Akute Road, adding that the driver and others in the vehicle escaped.

He said when the truck was searched, 297 bags of hemp were found.

Ali said among the suspected robbers, eight confessed to snatching 38 different cars in Lagos and Ogun states.

Copyright PUNCH.