Oyo Police Smash Robbery Gang

The Oyo State Police Command, on Tuesday, paraded an armed robbery suspect, Chibuike Wango, who allegedly sells juice in the day on the streets of Lagos but belongs to a six-member gang of notorious armed robbers.

The police said the suspect was caught during a gun duel between the gang and policemen at the Ibadan end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway around 12.30am on Tuesday.

Wango and his gang were said to have laid siege to the expressway for several hours where they allegedly demanded Sallah gift from travellers before they were smashed.

Although five of the gang members allegedly escaped with bullet wounds, the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer at the command, Mr. Abayomi Adeniji, said the paraded suspect was unlucky.

He said two dummy guns, including one AK-47, a pistol and other lethal weapons were recovered from the scene.

Among the victims of the robbery incident was a trailer driver coming to Ibadan from Lagos, Ismaila Fadeji, who was said to have been stabbed in the eye before he was dispossessed of valuables.

Twenty-five-year old Wango, whose left arm was shattered with bullets, was gasping for breadth during the parade at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad Division, Dugbe, Ibadan.

The DPPRO said the suspect confessed that he owned a shop in Lagos Island where he sells juice by the day, but used to rob at night to live big.

Although the suspect was on throes of death when journalists accosted him, Adeniji said that the gang waylaid travellers moving in and out of Ibadan in the spirit of the season.

Following the upsurge of crime in the society, the police image maker called for vigilance among the residence and appealed to hospitals and traditional healing homes to report cases of patient seeking treatment for gunshot injury.

Meanwhile, the police had deployed riot policemen in strategic positions in the city who conduct stop and search on vehicles.

But some of the policemen allegedly seized the opportunity to extort money from motorists, sometimes in a persuasive manner.
http://www.punchng.com/