How Command arrested armed robbery suspect at church’s camp in Ota

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested one Wasiu Kamarudeen, 19, of No. 8 Olaniyi Street, Iyalode Ilogbo, for trying to rob members of the St. Patrick Catholic Renewal Church, Jakande Open Field.

The church was said to be holding a three-day retreat on August 31 around 6.20pm when a motorcycle was seen conveying three passengers into the camp in a suspicious manner.

It was learnt that the church members, who were suspicious of the passengers, called the Ilemba Hausa Police Station, whose personnel raced to the scene to rescue the situation.

A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Bala Elkana, on Sunday, stated that the passengers mingled with the worshippers with the intent of dispossessing them of their valuables.

Elkana stated that the police recovered one locally-made short gun with one cartridge from the suspect.

He said, “On August 31 around 6.20pm, the Ilemba Hausa Police Station received a distress call from the St. Patrick Catholic Renewal Church, Jakande Open Field, that one motorcycle was sighted conveying three passengers into its camp in a suspicious manner.

“The passengers mingled with the worshipers, who were attending a three-day retreat, with intent to dispossess the worshippers of their valuables such as handsets, cash and more.

“On the strength of the information, patrol teams were deployed in the scene. The ring leader, identified as Wasiu Kamarudeen, 19, of No. 8 Olaniyi Street, Iyalode Ilogbo, was arrested and one locally-made short gun with one live cartridge was recovered from him.”

The PPRO added that the suspects’ operational motorcycle, with number plate Ogun AKM 749 WP, was also recovered.

According to him, the command’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad has launched a manhunt for the other two suspects.

The PPRO stated that investigation was ongoing and Kamarudeen would be charged as soon as the investigation was completed.

Meanwhile, the command, on August 30 around 11pm, said its personnel at the Sagamu Road Police Station, Ikorodu, received a distress call that one Seyi Onayemi, 37, allegedly drank a poisonous substance suspected to be Sniper insecticide and died in his room on 7th Avenue, Rofo Estate, Odogunyan, Sagamu Road, Ikorodu.

Elkana stated that the empty bottle of the insecticide and a suicide note were recovered from the scene.

“The scene was visited by homicide detectives and the corpse was evacuated to the mortuary for autopsy. The empty bottle of the poisonous substance and a suicide note were recovered from the scene,” Elkana stated.

Meanwhile, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad have arrested five suspected robbers, who allegedly hijacked a Toyota Corolla Sports car being used for the Taxify hailing service in the Lekki area of Lagos and sold it to a dealer in the Republic of Benin for N250,000.

The suspects, Michael Sosa, 27; Nelson Benson, 24; Idowu Dauda, 30; Owolabi Shobayo, aka Daju pa, 29; and Biliaminu Abu, aka Gengen, 43, were arrested in Ijoko and Ota, Ogun State, for the offences, which they allegedly committed in February 2019.

It was gathered that Sosa in company with one Dosumu, who is still at large, had converged on the Elegushi Beach, Lekki, to plan the hijack of a Taxify car and move it to Ogun State to sell.

Sosa, alongside Dosumu and Dauda, reportedly ordered a Taxify ride from the Agungi Estate to the Lagos Island.

In his confession to the police, Sosa said, “At the Abraham Adesanya Estate, Lekki, I told the driver that I wanted to urinate. While I pretended to be urinating, Dosumu poured the dried pepper he had on him in a bottle of water he bought in traffic.

“When we got back into the car, the Taxify driver was about to start the engine when Dosumu poured the mixture on his head. The driver screamed and jumped out of the car. While he was shouting for help, I got on his seat and drove the car away from the scene.

“I drove to the road leading to the Alpha Beach, where we stopped for some hours, because we suspected that we were being trailed. Around 4am the next day, I dropped Dosumu at Omole and I proceeded to the Agege Stadium, where I picked up Benson, who was to direct us through the routes to Ijoko without encountering the police.”

Sosa explained further that he took the car to his spiritualist’s place at Ijoko and started sourcing for buyers.

“I was introduced to Shobayo and Abu. I later got to know that they were dreaded cultists and notorious criminals in the area. They took the car from me and I told them that I wanted to sell it for N300,000,” he added.

Explaining his role, Shobayo stated “Dauda was the one, who drove the car to my house in Ijoko. He told me that it belonged to his brother. I discovered that the car had no papers; this made it difficult to sell.

“We got a dealer, who asked us to bring it to the Republic of Benin. Abu and I took it there around 11pm after changing the number plate.

“We sold the car for N250,000. We would have sold it for more but for the papers that were not available. I took N190,000 out of the money. I gave N60,000 to Abu, while I gave N40,000 to Dauda to give to Sosa. Although, I got to know that it was N30,000 that got to him. Our link in Benin got N13,000; that was how we shared the money.”

Speaking on the development, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, stated that criminals, who think they could escape with nefarious activities perpetrated in Lagos, needed to think twice as the command was at alert and would haunt down criminals in any part of the country.

It was gathered that the suspects had been transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad for further investigation.