Men of the Ondo State Command of the Western Nigeria Security Network Agency (WNSN), Operation Amotekun have arrested a suspected leader of highway robbers after robbing a 17 seater bus at the Ifira-Akoko axis of Akoko South East Local Government Area of the State.
The men of the Amotekun corps, who also rescued the passengers after engaging the hoodlums in a gun duel and arrested the leader of the group, Musa Jamiu while trying to escape in the bush.
The Chairman of the Amotekun in the state, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, who disclosed the arrest of the suspect, explained that the armed men stopped the vehicle of the victims while coming from Abuja.
According to him, the Lagos bound vehicle was stopped by the hoodlums in Ifira-Akoko and ordered the driver to drive the bus into the bush.
He said some residents of the area, alerted the Amotekun in the area and swung into action as they chased the robbers into the bush, while the armed men engaged his men in a shoot out.
He explained that one of the robbers was arrested while trying to escape while one other was arrested after being shot by his colleague in order to conceal their secret.
He said: “18 passenger bus was waylaid and led into the bush along Ifira-Akoko on January 11, 2022. We were reliably informed that the vehicle was attacked just outside Ifira-Akoko on which was on its way to Abuja.
“After a pursuit, we found out that the vehicle veered into the bush and men of the Ondo State Security Network Agency followed them into the bush and at the end of the day, when we caught up with the robbers they opened fire on our men and thereafter, we were able to apprehend two of them.
“One of the armed robbers was angry with the other one for leaving a trace and fired his colleagues in the thigh. We knew he was trying to conceal some facts and our men quickly rushed the injured one to a nearby hospital but gave up the ghost. The ring leader and the accomplice of the robbery gang were apprehended.
“We were able to retrieve the bus with registration number FKJ 430 XV as well as the belongings of the victims. We also gave first aid to all the victims, 17 of them and we will ensure that they continue their journey back to Abuja safely.”
Confessing the crime, the arrested robbers, Jamiu, 32 stated that the operation was his first attempt and he was recruited by his friend.
He said “I’m from Okenne. I’m a farmer at Elegbeka. I went to Okenne to celebrate the new year festival when a friend of mine, one ‘MG’ called me that why I’m suffering myself as a farmer. He promised to assist me. I didn’t know that he wanted to introduce me to armed robbery.
“On Tuesday, January 11, ‘MG’ called me that I should come to Isua-Akoko junction and I met him there with another person he brought along. So the three of us went for the operation.
“‘MG’ was the one who supplied the guns and bullets. The operation was my first time engaging in a robbery.
Narrating how they were attacked the driver of the bus, Agboola Kabiru, said “On our way from Lagos to Abuja after passing through Idoani in Ondo State where there is a bad portion of the road before Isua, the robbers attacked our vehicle.
“I was forced to stop the vehicle after they began to shoot sporadically into the air. They collected the key from me and drove the bus into the bush.
“It was inside the bush that they began to rob us of our belongings. After they collected our possessions, they left us inside the bush and they drove our vehicles away.
“It was when we came out of the bush that we discovered that the bus had been abandoned about a kilometre from where we were robbed.
“As we were trying to look for the key to the bus, we saw Amotekun officers who asked us what happened and we explained to them.
“One of the Amotekun operatives went to help us get a rewire that will start the bus and the rest went inside the bush and they trailed the armed robbers. I didn’t even believe that the robbers can be caught.
“The funniest part was that there were policemen some meters from where we were stranded but they didn’t attend to us. We were robbed around 3:30 pm and we left that spot around 8:00 pm.”
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