Suspected armed robbers have engaged policemen on patrol in a gun duel during a robbery operation in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
The leader of the gang was shot dead during the operation, while five others were later arrested.
While parading the suspects at the state police command in Ibadan on Friday, the state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Odude, said that the gang invaded Ogbomoso on June 17, 2017 around 10pm.
The gang first snatched a Toyota Corolla and used the car as their operational vehicle for operations they carried out that night.
Odude said, "The gang snatched the Toyota Corolla saloon car from Taiwo Ogunyemi at gunpoint and fled the scene immediate.
Similarly, another victim, Gbemiga Oladunni, was attacked by the same bandits who dispossessed him of a large sum of money and a pump action rifle. Not done, the hoodlums unleashed yet another attack on Tetra Abbey filling station where they robbed the station attendants of cash and other valuables.
"However, they ran out of luck when a distress call was made to the police. Promptly, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad stationed along the Ogbomoso/Oyo axis responded. On sighting the operatives, the hoodlums opened fire prompting the SARS operatives to engage them in a shootout that lasted for some minutes. At the end of the gun duel, one of the hoodlums was hit by police bullets while another member of the gang, later identified as Ademola Ajayi (33), was arrested after sustaining gunshot injuries."
Odude added that the arrest of Ajayi led to the arrest of other members of the gang like Rotimi Awoniyi (21), Sikiru Adigun, aka Lighter (32), Abayomi Olatunji, aka Energy (35) and Femi Abolarin aka Dudu (28).
Exhibits recovered from the gang include one pump action rifle, two locally-made guns, one pistol, fifteen 9mm live ammunition, one expended cartridge, a Toyota Corolla with, HP laptop, five assorted mobile phones, a power bank and four thousand naira cash.
One of the suspects, Ajayi, said he was a driver and that an informant (Awoniyi), who was a commercial motorcyclist in Ogbomoso, brought the deal to the gang.
"He told us to come and rob a man but we only found his family at home. Before we began the operation, he took two of us out to snatch a vehicle for the job which I drove.
"He also took us to a bakery but it was too late and the workers had closed. Then we went to a supermarket and found nothing too. We then headed to the filling station where we were caught by the police. One of us shot at them and they shot back, injuring some of us. This is my second time of robbing with the gang," he said.
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