Police arrest alleged ‘serial killers’

The police in Ogun State say they have arrested four suspected serial killers who specialise in robbing and killing point of sale (POS) and Uber drivers in the state.

Abimbola Oyeyemi, the police spokesperson, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

“The suspects, Kehinde Saliu Jelili aka Oluomo, Abiodun Akinola, Johnson Fakeye and Jamiu Akinola were all arrested following a report lodged at Onipanu Divisional Headquarters on the 18th of April 2021,” Mr Oyeyemi said.

According to the police, a POS attendant, Aanu Salaudeen, who was under the employment of one Abiodun Odebunmi, reported that “her boss left his office at Aparadija the previous day (April 17), to meet a customer with a cash sum of N4 million to be used for POS transaction.”

She reported to the police that Mr Odebunmi had not been seen since then, and all calls made to his line did not go through.

“According to her, they have earlier done a transaction of N1.5 million with the person who invited his boss the previous day, and that it was the same person, who called his boss to meet him at Ojuore to do another POS transaction of N4 million,” the statement partly read.

Mr Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said upon the report, the policemen at Onipanu commenced investigation into the sudden disappearance of the man.

He added that their efforts paid off when the dead and burnt body of the victim was discovered in an uncompleted building at Arobieye area of Ota without the trace of his assailants.

The case was, thereafter, transferred to the homicide section of the state criminal investigation and intelligence department to unravel the perpetrators of the dastardly act within the shortest possible period, the police said.

Mr Oyeyemi said the homicide team embarked on technical and intelligence based investigation, which led them to Otun Ekiti in Ekiti State, where the suspect was discovered to be hibernating.

“On getting to Ekiti, the suspect got wind of the presence of the detectives and quickly escaped to Offa in Kwara State.

“With determination to apprehend him, the team continued trailing him and they later got information that he was in Benin Republic, where he had gone to attend the court session of Chief Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho, and that he will soon be coming to Nigeria.

“Having gotten the information about the day he will be returning to Nigeria, the team laid ambush for him and got him arrested at the boundary between Ogun and Lagos State,” the police said.

The police said the arrested suspect, Kehinde Salihu, confessed killing the victim and informed the police that he deliberately lured the victim to Ota in Ogun State, where he and his gang members were waiting for him with the money he was asked to bring.

“They matcheted him to death after collecting the money from him. He stated further that they burnt the victim’s body in order to cover their tracks. He confessed further that their targeted victims are always Uber and POS Operators.

“According to him, one of them will pretend as (a) passenger to the Uber driver, and will lure such driver to where his members were waiting, and as soon as he got to the place, the driver will be hacked to death and the car will be taken away to their receiver,” the police statement reads.

Similarly, Mr Oyeyemi said the syndicate had earlier attacked another victim, one Idowu Ademiluyi, at Itori area and snatched his Toyota Corolla car, having matcheted him to the point of death.

The police spokesperson said the arrest of Kehinde Salihu, led the detectives to their receiver, Abiodun Akinola, who is a standby buyer of every proceed of their crime, while the confessional statements of the duo led the police to the other two suspects, Johnson Fakeye and Akinola Jamiu at Atan Ota and Owode Yewa respectively.

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Items recovered from the suspects are one Toyota Camry, one Toyota Corolla and one Toyota Rave 4, whose owners had been murdered.

The commissioner of police in the state, Edward Awolowo, directed police operatives to arrest all members of the gang.

He appealed to members of the public to always disclose their movement to at least one trusted person, whenever they have cause to keep appointment with an unknown person.

Mr Awolowo also directed that the suspects be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.