Ibadan – The Oyo State Police Command on Tuesday in Ibadan paraded 14 suspected criminals arrested for committing various crimes ranging from armed robbery, kidnapping and vandalism.
The Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Katsina, who paraded the suspects before newsmen, reiterated the commitment of the Police to rid the state of criminal elements.
The four-man gang was paraded for alleged series of armed robbery attacks and kidnapping in Kwara, Ekiti and other neighbouring states.
The CP said the suspects were arrested by the Command’s Ambush Squad, when they came into Oyo state to kidnap a traditional ruler.
He said the gang had earlier kidnapped one Arande from Omu-Aran in Kwara and collected a ransom of N800, 000.
“They were arrested in their hide-out at the concluding stage of their plan to abduct the traditional ruler.
“From their confessions, a team of detective was deployed to Ekiti and Kwara states where fifteen cows, one unregistered Peugeot 307, one Toyota Camry and one Toyota Venza were recovered,” he said.
Katsina said the police was still on the trail of one of the gang member called Bolaji.
“A massive man-hunt is ongoing to arrest Bolaji who is a Yoruba-Fulani of Baraku in Kwara State.
“Bolaji is hereby declared wanted. Members of the public are urged to cooperate with the police by providing information about the suspect,” he said.
Another four man-gang tagged as ‘industrial burglars’ was paraded by the Police.
The suspects were alleged to have stolen armoured cables used in installing industrial machine and printing plates from a factory.
Gabriel Onibonoje, the owner of the factory, said the stolen cables and wires were estimated to about N100 million.
Onibonoje, a renowned printer and publisher in the state, who was at the briefing said: “the men entered my factory that I have built for over 60 years and reduced it to an empty shell.
“They came with sledge hammers and other dangerous tools.
“If anyone had confronted them they would have killed the person.
“But, I thank God that they were caught and disgraced by the police,” Onibonoje said.
Kastina called on members of the public who had fallen victim to the suspects to come forward with prove of ownership of any of the recovered items for identification and collection.
– NAN
