TWO suspected members of a four-man armed robbery
gang, Dare Abdulahi (20) and Wale Somoye (19), arrested by the Ogun State
Police Command in connection with several robberies at Ijoko community in Ogun
State are currently at the Anti-Robbery section of the Department of Criminal
Investigation, Eleweran, for investigations.
One of the two remaining suspects, Ibrahim Gbemisola,
who received gunshot injury during an encounter with security men at the
community at their last outing before their arrest, is currently receiving
treatment at an undisclosed hospital. The fourth suspect, Biodun Fadipe, is on
the run.
Crime Reports reliably gathered that before the arrest
of the two suspects, they were members of a cult group which they named
Glamours. They were said to have transformed to a robbery gang which started
terrorizing residents of Ijoko community.
But the activities of the gang were halted when one of
the members, Wale, was said to have been arrested during a robbery operation.
Three other suspects escaped and reportedly hid themselves in a room rented by
Dare.
The police spokesperson in Ogun State, Muyiwa Adejobi,
told Crime Reports that after confessing to being an armed robber, Wale led the
security men to Dare’s room, hinting them to be at alert because his gang
members were armed.
After Wale knocked at the door, Ibrahim was said to
have opened the door and on sighting the security men, attempted to escape. In
the process of stopping him, he was shot by one of the security men.
“Though they initially denied being armed robbers, on
their transfer to anti-robbery section and subsequent interrogation, they opened
up on their past operations and led police to their victims’ houses. Not only
that, they took the police to the spot where they hid their gun in a banana
plantation farm. A locally-made pistol was recovered in the process,” the PPRO
said.
In an interview with Crime Reports, Dare and Wale
confirmed that they were armed robbers and had operated in about five houses at
Ijoko where they lived. Dare, an Ijebu Igbo-born young man, told Crime Reports:
“I live at Sango, Ijoko with a friend. I never knew my father and mother just
remarried. After SS3 education in 2011, I started learning to become an auto
technician.
“Before we began robbery, we formed a cult group
called Glamours cult. We were about seven in number. We started by celebrating
a carnival and then when one Biodun Fadipe came to join us in 2014, he
suggested that we turned the group to a cult and start using the forum to rob.
He was part of another cult group called Ilefo which he joined when he was in
secondary school, so he already had experience.
“Biodun was the one who suggested robbery to me. He
was the one who assisted us in buying a gun at Idi-Iroko area for N50,000. Four
of us who formed the robbery gang contributed money to buy it. We started
robbery in August 2014.
“We have carried out five operations at Ijoko. Ibrahim
and I were usually outside watching while Wale and Biodun Fadipe would go
inside. Biodun was the one who used to hold the gun. We usually scaled the
fence of our targeted house or knocked the door, asking the occupants to open it.
There was no cartridge in the gun; we only used it to scare our victims.
“We took laptops, phones, camera and cash. I have not
made any gain since I started robbery. I was spending my own share to enjoy
myself. You know that one is likely to be reckless with money one did not sweat
for.”
Disclosing how he was arrested, Dare said: “the night
before my arrest, I was using my motorcycle to work and later met three others
at the kiosk of one Mallam at about 11p.m. I told them that one of the night
guards told me to go home because it was late. Wale said he would like to sleep
in my room but we rejected him.
“The following day, he came and knocked the door. As
Ibrahim opened the door, one of the security guards shot him in the hand and we
were all taken to the police station. Ibrahim is currently in the hospital. We
did not go for robbery that day but I think he disclosed that we used to rob
when the security men were asking him questions after he was stopped at
midnight.”
On his part, Wale, from Abeokuta, Ogun State, said “I
joined the robbery gang in May 2014. I saw youths doing a carnival on my
street at Baale area of Ijoko. They wrote Glamours on their polo shirts. That
evening, they called me, beat me and told me that I had been initiated into the
cult.
“One day, I was told that I should follow them to rob.
Initially, I refused and they warned me against telling anyone. Later, I
decided to follow them. It is true I contributed N10,000 but I was never told
that it was meant to purchase a gun. I saw them with a gun.
“On the day I was arrested, I was going to sleep in
the house of someone after Ibrahim and Dare refused to take me in. I met the
security men on the way and they initially told me to go, warning me never to
move so late again. Suddenly, they called me back and started beating me,
saying that I was an armed robber. After much beating, I confessed that I had a
gang and led them to Dare’s house.”
Commenting on the arrest of the suspects, the PPRO
said that the police were on the trail of the suspect at large, adding that the
arrested suspects would be arraigned in court after the resumption of sittings
at courts.
Source:Tribune
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