Seven suspected members of the bank robbery gang paraded by the police. Photo by newsmakerslive.org

…23 others to be prosecuted for other heinous crimes

Police Operatives attached to the Special Tactical Squad have arrested a 7-man criminal gang that attacked and robbed three comm?ercial banks in the South-West States of Ondo and Ekiti between 2019 and 2020, killed innocent citizens including six (6) policemen and carted away several millions of naira.
Investigation reveals that the dare-devil armed robbers – Tunbosun Ojo ‘m’ 42years, Ismaila Ojo ‘m’ 25years, Victor Oyeyemi ‘m’ 36years, Dele Ariyo ‘m’ 44years, Shola Oladimeji ‘m’ 50years, Olubodun Folayemi ‘m’ 44years and Adeniyi John ‘m’ 42 years – carried out the robbery of a commercial bank in Ile-oluji, Ondo State on 7th February, 2020 where four (4) policemen were killed. Similarly they were also involved in the robbery of a Microfinance Bank in Idanre, Ondo State in December, 2019 and a commercial bank at Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State where two policemen lost their lives.
Efforts are being intensified to arrest other members of the gang still at large and to recover other sophisticated weapons used in the operations.
In a similar vein, twenty-three (23) other suspects were also arrested by the Police operatives for their involvement in various crimes including armed robbery, kidnapping, illegal possession of prohibited firearms, car snatching at gun point, amongst other offences.
The following were recovered from the suspects: One (1) AK49 rifle, One (1) AK47 rifle, two (2) pump action guns, five (5) locally made guns, nineteen (19) locally made short guns, one hundred and twenty-five (125) cartridges, one hundred and forty-five (145) AK47 ammunition, locally fabricated explosives and a Toyota Corolla vehicle with Reg. No. LSR 490 GC. The suspects will be charged to court on conclusion of investigations.
During the parade, in Abuja, police spokesperson, DCP Frank Mba, said the suspects were arrested by the IGP Special Tactical Squad (STS) led by the Commander, DCP Yusuf Kolo in their hideouts in Ondo, Ekiti, and Ogun states.

Mba said the suspects’ operations were highly organized and clinically executed.

Mba added, “These suspects are well organised. They each have assigned roles. Fatoye and Ariyo are Okada riders, who would station at advantaged position to watch for any security operatives around the place. Others would be right inside the bank operating.”

Tubosun Ojo confessed that he led others to rob the banks but denied killing the policemen in Ile-Oluji.

He said, “We are armed robbers, operating in the South West. We prefer banks. As the leader of the gang, I chose which bank to rob and the particular time. We have robbed banks across the region.

“During one of our operations in Ile-Oluji, after the initial surveillance of the area, two of our guys were outside, two held the people inside the bank down, while I personally packed the money we stole. But before I could come outside the bank, our guys have killed six policemen and other civilians. When I confronted them on the killings, one of them threatened to kill me and he shot at my leg.”

Asked how much he made from the bank robberies, Ojo said it varied, but he could remember that he made N1.1 million from Ile-Oluji.

He said: “God knows we have sinned already. We have sinned against God and humans. He knows why we were arrested. If not Him, we would not have been arrested. We have asked God for forgiveness and we know He will forgive us. We are praying that you all should forgive us.”