By Ononye VC
The Ogun State Police Command on Tuesday paraded three police officers who had been subjected to orderly room trial for alleged involvement in armed robbery in Ijebu-Ode after which they were dismissed and would soon be charged to court.
The dismissed officers are Inspector Taiwo Kolawole with force number AP/No 341113, Inspector John Ogbe with force number AP/No 309292 and Cpl Idowu Sunday, with force number 513707. All the officers were attached to Ijebu-Ife in Ijebu East Local Government Area of the state.
This is just as a Library and Information Science student of Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, and Abdul-Azeez Ibrahim, a suspected Black Axe cultist, were also paraded in connection with series of kidnapping and armed robbery in and around Ijebu Ode and its environs.
Ibrahim was said to have been arrested on Saturday, January 27 at Imaweje Ijebu in Odogbolu Local Government Area of the state.
He was said to have been found with seven assorted guns and charms all of which he was alleged to be using for his nefarious activities.
The Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, disclosed this on Tuesday while briefing newsmen over the success of the state command in fighting crime and criminalities at its Eleweran headquarters, Abeokuta.
Speaking on the dismissal of the three police officers, Alamutu said that one Kashimao Emmanuel of Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ogun State had on January 12 at about 8:45am reported how the three erstwhile police officers accosted him while driving and forced him to transfer from his account to an Opay account no. 9097829766.
Alamutu said, “On 12/01/2024, at about 0845hrs, one Kashimao Emmanuel ‘m’ of TASUED Ijebu-Ode , reported at the station that while he was driving in his Toyota Venza car, with Reg No. LSD 813 EX brown in colour, that he came across a gang of four armed men and one of them was putting on a police round neck camouflage, while three others were on mufti.
“They demanded his phone, which he calmly declined. In the process, one of them fired a shot into the air and that was when he complied.
“They entered into his car and took him away towards Sagamu Expressway. On getting to Ososa, they made a U-turn to Ijebu-Ode, where a sum of N312,000 was forcefully transferred from his account to an Opay account no. 9097829766.
“Upon the receipt of the report, the DPO quickly made a call to the Opay account number where it was discovered that the Opay account number belongs to a POS operator in Ijebu-Ode.
“The DPO then gave instruction that on no account should the POS operator give out the money transferred to him to anyone who comes for it. More so, the operator should tactically delay anyone who comes for the money pending his arrival.
“On getting to the POS shop at Ibadan garage, one Force No 513707 Cpl Idowu Sunday attached to Ijebu-Ife was met waiting to cash the money and was promptly arrested.
“While taking him to the station, he sighted his accomplices, namely AP/No 341113 Inspector Taiwo Kolawole, AP/No 309292 Inspector John Ogbe, both were attached Ijebu-Ife Division, and one civilian, Adesiyan Mathew, who happened to be the driver, was also arrested.
“In the course of investigation, two other complainants who were victims at various times came forward and identified them to have earlier robbed them of their belongings in the same manner.
“The three policemen have been tried in orderly room and dismissed. They will be charged to court soonest.”
The CP also disclosed that over 80 suspects were arrested for various criminal acts such as cultism, armed robbery, kidnapping among others.
