Oyo State Police Command said yesterday that it had arrested 43 suspected criminals, including kidnappers, robbers and fake security agents terrorising residents.
Among the suspects, who were paraded at a news briefing at the police headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan was a suspected kidnap kingpin, Duru Daniel, who was alleged to have masterminded high profile kidnaps, including that of Senator Iyabo Anisulowo, between 2015 and 2017.
The suspected kidnapper, an ex-convict, was nabbed in 2016 and arraigned. He was, however, granted bail in January.
Police Commissioner Abiodun Odude said barely four months after the 31-year-old suspected kidnapper was released from Agodi Prison, he formed a robbery gang, which operated on the Ibadan/Ijebu-Ode axis, terrorising, maiming and robbing motorists.
Other members of Danielโs gang, who were arrested by the police, included Umaru Mohammed, 23, also an ex-convict, who admitted to have served jail term in Lokoja Prison and Aminu Abubakar, 22, the gangโs armourer, a herdsman, who was said to have procured arms from a man simply identified as Sara, now at large, in Zamfara State.
Some of the exhibits recovered from them included three AK 49 rifles, one English made pistol, 87 rounds of 7.63mm live ammunition and 16 expended 7.62 ammunition.
A soldier, Azeez Olaide, 22, confessed to have carried out crimes ranging from kidnapping to robbery and defilement.
He reportedly committed the offences with two members of his gang, Ibrahim Lawal, 22 and Kehinde Adeniji, 29.
The police boss said Olaide, a Private, was responsible for robberies in parts of the state.
โThe modus operandi of the suspects, who were usually clad in military camouflage, was to go about kidnapping people, robbing them and defiling female victims.
โThe suspects, armed with guns, a jack knife and other weapons, abducted Rasak Michael and his girlfriend, Rashidat, in Oluyole, Ibadan on April 31 and took them to a hotel where they were kept till the day they were released.
โWhile in captivity, the suspects defiled the female victim and recorded the sexual acts to blackmail her. The suspects also stole ATM cards, having forcefully obtained PIN numbers and withdrew a large sum from the victimsโ accounts,โ he said.
Items recovered from the suspects were four pairs of military fatigue, a pair of military desert boot, a fake military ID card, a jack knife, seven ATM cards belonging to the victims, two phones, a Rolex wristwatch, one gold necklace, one WIFI and N135,000.
Also arrested were members of a vigilance group, who confessed to have conspired with a robbery gang to rob residents of the community, who paid them for rendering security services.
The seven suspects, Odude said, betrayed the trust reposed in them by the Osungbade Community by inviting robbers to attack residents.
The suspects included Wasiu Adejare aka DJ Keze, 27, who claimed to be the gang leader and was once arraigned for unlawful possession of firearms, Solomon Okeke, 22, Korede Afeez, 23, Aliu Abiodun, 19, Oladepo Nurudeen, 32, Tunde Popoola, 25 and Kazeem Ajao aka Sokoti, 50.
