The Ogun State Police Command has announced its intention to prosecute three suspected members of a robbery syndicate that specialised in snatching motorcycles in the Owode-Egba area of the state.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, disclosed this in a telephone conversation with PUNCH Metro on Tuesday.
According to Odutola, the suspects were arrested following a reported attack on a resident of Ijemo Kukoyi village along the Ajura-Olojo-Shiun road.
Our correspondent learnt from the PPRO that the victim, Rotimi Bajela, had informed the police that the suspected robbers ambushed him while he was travelling on his motorcycle along the Ajura-Olojo-Shiun road.
The robbers reportedly shot at him, but when the shot failed to injure him, they resorted to attacking him with a machete and fled with his motorcycle.
She narrated, “On October 11, 2024, a concerned resident provided valuable information that led the police to apprehend the suspects who attacked one Rotimi Bajela.
“The report stated that 60-year-old Rotimi Bajela was leaving Ajura Township and riding towards Ijemo Kukoyi Village via Owode Egba on his Boxer Bajaj motorcycle, whose registration number is not yet known.
“As he travelled along the Ajura-Olojo-Shiun road, three men emerged from the bushes and assaulted him with a gun and a machete. During the attack, the assailants shot him; when the gun failed to injure or kill him, they resorted to hitting him with the machete on his head and neck, robbing him of his motorcycle, money, and an Itel mobile phone.”
Bajela was said to have identified the suspected robbers as Adegboyega Sarafa, Soliu Bankole, and Sogo Idris, alias Agbara.
Armed with the identity of the suspects, police operatives trailed and arrested the trio, recovering a locally made gun and the machete used in the attack.
“When the police visited Bajela at the hospital during their investigation, he confirmed that he recognised the attackers and could identify them as Adegboyega Sarafa, 42; Soliu Bankole, 38; and Sogo Idris, alias Agbara, 46.
“All three suspects were arrested on October 14, 2024, and the locally made gun and machete used during the attack have been recovered,” the PPRO said.
Providing further updates on the incident, Odutola noted that the suspects were undergoing a discrete investigation and would be charged in court upon its conclusion.
She also urged commercial motorcyclists and motorcycle owners to remain vigilant to avoid becoming victims of armed robbery.
“The suspects are undergoing investigation and will be prosecuted upon the conclusion of our investigation.
“The command is urging members of the public, especially commercial motorcyclists and owners of motorcycles, to be watchful and vigilant to avoid becoming victims of armed robbery,” Odutola stated.
PUNCH Metro reported on September 23 that three suspected robbers terrorising the Ejirin community in the Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area of Ogun State were arrested at their hideout in Lagos State.
Odutola had confided in our correspondent that their arrest followed the apprehension of one member of the syndicate, who had gone to rob the Cele Ejirin community.
Odutola said that upon the arrest and interrogation of the first suspect, identified as Qudri Yusuf, he led police operatives to their hideout in the Idioro area of Mushin, Lagos State, where two other members of the syndicate were arrested.
