Six 'one chance' robbery suspects apprehended in Kwa

Six suspects who allegedly specialise in robbing passengers in commercial vehicles in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, have been apprehended by the State Police Command.

It was gathered that the suspects who normally use two cabs for their operations were arrested last week Sunday.

The suspects include Taye Babatunde, Adisa Ismaila, Toyin Folorunsho, Dare Alawo, Suleiman Shehu and Raheem Kareem. The spokesman of of the police in the state, Mr. Ajayi Okasanmi, said they were arrested by a police patrol team.

He said the suspects were trying to dispossess a victim, Aisha Raji, of her belongings at the General Hospital roundabout when the police intercepted and apprehended them.

Okasanmi stated that the police had commenced an investigation into their activities and making attempts to track down their accomplices.

He added that the suspects would be prosecuted after the completion of investigation.

Raji told journalists that she boarded the vehicle when the driver said they were heading to Tanke area of Ilorin. She added that she never knew that the occupants were robbers. She said there were four men including the driver in the cab with two sitting at the back and one supposed passenger beside the driver in the front.

She said other people who turned out to be accomplices boarded the vehicles at different spots.

According to her, it was when they were close to the hospital roundabout that they ordered her to release all her belongings to them. She said she hesitated because she had N78,750 in her bag. She added that the suspects pounced on her and were struggling to dispossess her of the money, her bag and other belongings when a police patrol van was passing by.

She stated that she started shouting which attracted the policemen who now caught up with them and arrested them.

Raji said, “While we were struggling, the police patrol van came and I shouted; so the policemen overtook us and blocked the vehicle with their patrol van. I thank God that there was slight traffic congestion that day. The policemen immediately arrested the suspects.”

Meanwhile, Okasanmi said that the command had also arrested some criminals suspected to be involved in the manufacturing of fake number plates.

Okasanmi said that the culprits had been manufacturing Lagos number plates when they were discovered.

“We first discovered that stealing of vehicles with Lagos registration numbers had been on the high side in the state. It was in the course of our investigation that we discovered the fake number plates,”he said.