THREE armed robbery suspects who invaded one of the hostels of Osun State University students in Okuku, Osun State, have been nabbed by the Osun State Police Command.
According to information gathered by Metro, the suspects, whose names were given as Adebiyi Bolaji (25), Olagunju Seyanu (23) and Adeyemo Samson (25), attacked the students and robbed them of their valuables after they invaded the hostel on April 3 at about 9:00p.m.
Before the latest robbery, the suspects were said to have gone to a students’ hostel at Moba Junction, Okuku, on January 28 at about 9:00p.m., armed with gun, axe and knife, and robbed the occupants of two laptops, eight handsets and an ATM card.
Metro learnt that the suspects took the items to Computer Village, Ikeja and sold them to a ‘street guy.’
During the April 3 attack, they reportedly took three handsets, two wristwatches, two gold necklaces and four pairs of sandals. They were said to have tied their victims after robbing them, before leaving with the items.
A police source informed Metro that the armed robbery suspects fell into trouble the following day, April 4, when they were sighted by their victims who were on their way to the police station to lodge a report of the robbery they experienced the previous night.
It was learnt that the victims rushed to the police station to alert security operatives on the movement of the suspects, which made the police to quickly alert a patrol team at a checkpoint at Inisha junction, resulting in the arrest of the suspects.
Two wristwatches belonging to the victims were reportedly found on them at the check- point while the remaining items were recovered from their house when searched.
When contacted, the state Commissioner of Police, Olafimihan Adeoye, confirmed the arrest to Metro, saying that he had ordered the transfer of the suspects to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Osogbo, for further investigation.
The police commissioner added that they would be arraigned in court at the conclusion of investigation.
Speaking with Metro, one of the suspects, Bolaji from Ila Odo, Odo Otin Local Government Area of Osun State, confessed to carrying out the robbery, saying: “It is true we went to rob in a student hostel in Okuku.
“We went at about 9:00pm. We were three that went for the latest robbery on Monday, April 3, but two of us perpetrated the act in January.
“We used a double-barreled gun and axe. Seyanu was the one who got the gun. We got the axe and a knife from a Hausa guy who used to pick scrap metals and iron. The third gang member is Samson. We formed the gang in January.
“I believe my act was as a result of spiritual attack because I was not brought up the negative way.
“The three of us are from the same town and the spirit of robbery entered into us immediately we got the axe and the knife.
“We have only carried out two operations. The first time, we got two laptops and phones. We sold everything we got for N100,000 so I got N50,000 as my share.
“During the second operation, we collected iPhone6, Infinix Zero, Tecno P9, shoes. The day after the operation, we were passing through Okuku on a motorcycle when some of our victims sighted us. They raised the alarm and we sped off. We were apprehended by policemen at a checkpoint.”
On his part, Seyanu said that they started robbery when they had nothing to do and were hungry. “We were pushed to the crime by the devil,” Seyanu claimed.
On how he got the gun used by his gang, Seyanu told Metro that he got it from a dumpsite in Lagos when he went to defecate. According to the suspect, “I was working in a Chinese company at Agege then. One day, I finished night duty in the morning and went to a dumpsite to defecate. While there, I noticed a gun where it was kept, so I picked it and went to hide it elsewhere. I went to pick it when I was returning to Ila Odo.”
The third suspect, Samson, also said: “This is my first time of following Seyanu and Bolaji. We were staying in the same room. One day, they suggested I follow them for a robbery operation and I accepted. I didn’t know what came over me.
“My role was to stand at the building entrance and be on the watch-out. I was also given an axe to hold. We were yet to sell any of the items we got from the robbery operation when we were nabbed by the police.”