Operatives of Ogun State Police Command have arrested four members of a robbery syndicate, allegedly robbing and killing Point of Sales (POS) and Uber operators.
The suspects, Kehinde Saliu Jelili (also known as Oluomo), Abiodun Akinola, Johnson Fakeye and Jamiu Akinola, were arrested following a report lodged at Onipanu Divisional Headquarters, Ota, on April 18, 2021, by one Aanu Salaudeen, a POS attendant.
According to the statement, Salaudeen reported that her boss, Abiodun Odebunmi, a POS operator, left his office at Aparadija to meet a customer with a cash sum of N4 million to be used for POS transactions, and had not returned after 24-hours.
She stated further that Odebunmi has not been seen since then, and all calls put across to him did not go through.
According to her, they had earlier done a transaction of N1.5 million with the same person who invited his boss to meet him at Oju-Ore to do another transaction of N4 million.
Upon the report, the policemen at Onipanu commenced investigation into the sudden disappearance of the man, and their efforts paid off when the dead and burnt body of the victim was discovered in an uncompleted building at the Arobieye area of Ota without trace of his assailants.
According to a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, the case was transferred to homicide section of the state criminal investigation and intelligence department on the order of the Commissioner of Police, CP Edward Awolowo Ajogun, who mandated the homicide team to unravel the perpetrators of the dastardly act within the shortest possible period.
“The CSP Femi Olabode-led homicide team, in compliance with the CP’s directive, embarked on a technical and intelligence-based investigation, which led them to Otun Ekiti in Ekiti State, where the suspect was discovered to be hibernating. On getting to Ekiti, the suspect got wind of the presence of the detectives and quickly escaped to Offa in Kwara State.
“With determination to apprehend him, the team continued trailing him and they later got information that he was in Benin Republic, where he had gone to attend the court session of Chief Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho, and that he would soon be coming to Nigeria.”
He said based on information on the date of his return to the country, the team laid an ambush for him and got him arrested at the boundary between Ogun and Lagos states.
On interrogation, Kehinde Salihu Jeili, who claimed to be a native of Apomu in Osun State, confessed to the killing of the victim.
“He confessed that he deliberately lured the victim to Ota, where he and his gang members were waiting for him with the money he was asked to bring, having transacted a N1.5m business with him the previous day, and that they matcheted him to death after collecting the money from him. He stated further that they burnt the victim’s body in order to cover their tracks.”
“He confessed further that their targeted victims are always Uber and POS operators. According to him, one of them will pretend to be a passenger to the Uber driver, and will lure such a driver to where his members were waiting, and as soon as he gets to the place, the driver will be hacked to death and the car will be taken away to their receiver.”
Also, the suspect stated further that he and his gang attacked another victim, one Idowu Ademiluyi at Itori area and snatched his Toyota Corolla car, having macheted him to the point of death.
“The arrest of Kehinde Salihu, led the detectives to their receiver, Abiodun Akinola, who is a standby buyer of proceeds of their crime.
The confessional statements of the duo led to the arrest of the other two suspects, Johnson Fakeye and Akinola Jamiu at Atan Ota and Owode Yewa, respectively.
“One Toyota Camry, one Toyota Corolla and one Toyota Rav4, whose owners had been gruesomely murdered were recovered from the gang.”
He said the Commissioner of Police, Ajogun, who lauded the team for the painstaking investigation, which lasted for almost three months, appealed to members of the public to always disclose their movement to at least one trusted person whenever they have cause to keep appointment with an unknown person. The CP also directed that the suspects be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.
