The Nigeria Police Force, Oyo State Command, said it has apprehended seven suspects who allegedly hijacked and diverted 180 bundles of different clothing materials worth N25 million.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP. Adewale Osifeso, made this known at a news conference Tuesday in Ibadan, the State’s capital.
A total of 23 other suspects were also paraded for alleged kidnapping, defilement, armed robbery, job racketeering and forgery of land documents.
Osifeso said that the suspects linked with the diversion of the goods were apprehended on October 16 at about 3.00 p.m by the patrol team of the command, while on intelligence-based anti-crime patrol within Ogbomoso Town.
He said that the team received credible information that the suspects were sighted around Ogbomoso axis with two vehicles loaded with some unidentified goods suspected to have been diverted from their owners.
“Operatives attached to the Monitoring Unit immediately swung into action by tracking and eventually intercepted the syndicate in a convoy of a white Hiace Bus with Registration number AKD 360 YF.
“Another metallic silver colored Toyota Matrix car with Registration number KWL 125 CF was intercepted along Ogbomosho/Ilorin Expressway,” he said.
Osifeso added that in the process, five members of the criminal gang were arrested and100 bundles of different clothing materials recovered from their two vehicles.
“The suspects have so far voluntarily confessed to have diverted the goods.
“Their confession further led to the arrest of two other suspected criminal receivers who were in possession of additional 80 bundles of the diverted clothing materials, all valued at about N25 million,” he said.
The Command also paraded three fleeing suspected kidnappers responsible for the abduction of two children and staff of one Alhaji Ishaku Umaru of Komu, Oyo on Aug. 2 and dispossessed him of N6 million.
Osifeso said the same suspected kidnappers also on August 27 kidnapped a 38-year-old Shuibu Musa and a 37-year-old Musa Agwai at diverse points between Komu Town and Abuja Leather, while on motorcycle.
He said the suspects ran out of luck on October 3 when a joint team of operatives from the command stormed their hideout and arrested the trio at Komu area of Oyo State.
A staff of University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, was also paraded for allegedly defrauding about 100 job seekers to the tune of N6.5 million under the pretence of providing them jobs in the hospital.
Osifeso said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Adebowale Williams, urged the citizens to jettison all negative narratives and perception about the police in exchange for trust and renewed sense of vision, for the benefit of the state and Nigeria in general.
Exhibits recovered from the suspects included one motorcycle, a locally made Pistol, 28 live cartridges, two Toyota Camry cars, cell phones, 180 bundles of clothes and N4.9 million cash.
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