The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mohammed Indabawa, on Monday said the two policemen killed during a robbery operation in a church on Sunday in Ibadan, the state capital, were not on official duty.
Indabawa, who spoke to newsmen in Ibadan, described the incident as unfortunate, but insisted that the officers were not on official assignment.
“We are, however, investigating what or who took them there,” Indabawa said.
The two policemen were shot when armed robbers invaded the Vine Branch Church located on Queen Elizabeth Road in Ibadan.
The policemen were said to have escorted some bank officials to pick up the church offering and tithes.
Although the robbers were unable to access the money, the two policemen were shot dead while many church members were injured.
Indabawa, however, said that the police would not condone any criminal act, adding that they would do everything to curtail crime in the state, especially with the approaching elections.
The police also paraded nine robbery suspects arrested between January and February for different robbery cases.
Two of the paraded suspects confessed to hijacking a trailer marked KRD 949 XB that was conveying soya meal on the Ibadan-Ife Expressway on February 6.
The mastermind of the incident told newsmen that he was owed four months salaries by the company conveying the product.
He said: “I planned the hijacking with my friends to get back at the company for not paying my salaries for four months and laying me off.
“I am on N17,500 per month and I intended selling off only the product.
“I have never stolen before now and I am, therefore, asking to be forgiven.”
Another suspect was arrested with bullet wounds on his thigh.
He stated that he sustained the wound on January 13 at about 2.18am while escaping after a robbery operation at Idi Ori, Sasa, Ibadan.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
