The Lagos State Police Command on Tuesday
paraded a robbery gang, which confessed to have killed a former
Assistant Editor of the Newswatch newspapers, Mr. Toyin Obadina, in one of their operations.
PUNCH Metro
had reported on Monday, February 3, that some gunmen in two Sports
Utility Vehicles shot Obadina in the Ikorodu area of Lagos around 1am.
It had also been reported that 50-year-old Obadina, who hailed from Ogun
State, died the following day during a surgery to remove the bullets
lodged in his stomach.
According to
the police, four suspects: Adeshina Festus, Sunday Samuel, Ibrahim
Adeokin and Babatunde Makinde were arrested while two others-identified
simply as Oke and Benjamin- were killed by the Special Anti-Robbery
Squad during another operation.
Our
correspondent learnt that the gang was arrested in its hideout in
Ajelogo, Mile 12 on Thursday, October 17 following a tip-off.
During
interrogation, the suspects confessed to the police that they were
responsible for the killing of the owner of a Toyota Salon car with
number plate, AKD 701 CE. The gang confessed to have snatched the
vehicle at the Lucky Fibre area, Ikorodu on Friday, February 1, and
abandoned the corpse of the owner at about 1am.
The police thereafter discovered that the victim was Obadina, the Newswatch Assistant Editor.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro
on Tuesday, the suspects said Oke, their gang leader, had shot the
editor because he (Obadina) ‘struggled’ with the gang over his laptop.
Festus,
21, said, “On that night, I drove one of the two SUVs. When the man was
approaching, we blocked his vehicle at a bad portion of the Ikorodu
Road. After he was forced to stop, our ring leaders in the other
vehicle, Oke and Benjamin, went to meet him.
“I
and the others stayed back. As this went on, we noticed that an
argument ensued between them, and Oke shot him. The editor probably felt
only the two robbers were at the spot, and he was trying to defend
himself.
“I joined the gang for
operations around January. We have gone on about three operations. We
operated on Itamaga Road, Ikorodu Road and Ishaga. Our robbery was only
on the highway. I was working as a commercial driver before I joined the
gang. It was Oke who brought the two guns that we were using. We
usually started from around 8pm till midnight. We were six in the gang.”
Samuel, 22, from Udu, Delta State, added that Oke wanted Obadina to part with his laptop, and a struggle had ensued.
He
said, “Oke our leader had carried the journalist’s laptop, and the man
dragged the property with him. In annoyance, he shot him in the chest. I
was part of the gang. I was inside the second vehicle. Oke and Benjamin
were inside the Toyota Sienna that blocked the journalist’s vehicle.
“After
shooting the journalist, we immediately drove away. We were all furious
with Oke for shooting him. But we were afraid so that he would not
shoot us too because he was a violent man. He had shot Babatunde before.
After two weeks, we went again to Mile 12 for another robbery, and it
was in the process that the police caught us, and they killed Oke during
that operation.”
Our correspondent
learnt that two other robbery suspects linked to the gang, identified
simply as Olasheu and Omo Alhaja, were still at large.
The
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Cornelius Aderanti, said despite
the fact that investigations into the murder took months, the police
were able to eventually apprehend the suspects.
He
said, “We were able to recover two locally-made single-barrelled guns,
12 rounds of live cartridges, one Nissan Xtera and one Toyota Yaris car
from the gang. The suspects were apprehended by a team of crack
detectives led by Operations Commander, SARS, Abba Kyari.
“Like
in all climes, investigations can drag on for years, but eventually the
suspects will be hunted down. Therefore, the police have been able to
round up the people behind this unfortunate incident. They will be made
to pay for their deeds.”
Culled from Punch.
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