A harvest of arms and ammunition in Oyo

A robbery operation that could have thrown Ibadan, Oyo State capital, into confusion was recently nipped in the bud as the police intercepted a van loaded with arms and ammunition. AKINWALE ABORISADE spoke with a suspected member of the bandit now in the police net

Chinedu Iwuanyanwu lies down on the floor at the Oyo State Police Command, Eleyele, Ibadan, like a lifeless figure. Swarms of flies hover all over him like a stale meal dumped in the waste bin. His battered body reeks of repelling odour. His soul might just as well have been battered.

Suddenly, he raises his head and gazes at the crowd of people — police and newsmen — that clustered around him. The flies that are feasting on his sore-infested body take to flight as he moves his wounded body. Iwuanyanwu‘s eyeballs, bulging out of the hollowed sockets of his skull, roll from left to right. As he manages to talk to the press, he groans in pain.

He began the story of his arrest by mentioning his identity, ”My name is Iwuanyawu and I am 22 years old. I live at Ajangbadi area of Lagos State. I am a commercial driver plying Mile 2 to Osodi. I did not intend to join robbery gang. I did not know that those that I am moving with are armed robbers. A friend of mine named Ejike introduced me to the group. Ejike and I live in the same neighbourhood (Ajangbadi). I got to know about what they were into later. Ejike commanded me to drive the van loaded with guns and bullets from Akure. We were heading to Lagos, but we were stopped at a checkpoint in Ibadan and I was the only one that the police caught...”

Iwuanyanwu, a suspected member of a robbery gang that specialised in bank robbery, was arrested at the Ibadan end of Ile-Ife/Ibadan Expressway on Monday, November 1. According to him, the gang had planned to rob some banks in Akure, Ondo State. They were battle ready as they were armed to the teeth with dangerous weapons and live ammunition. He, however, said the gang changed their plan to strike in Akure and decided to go back to their base (Lagos).

Police investigation indicated otherwise. The Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, Mr. Adisa Bolanta, during a press conference, said, ”It was not a free day for the daredevil gang of robbers. They planned to rob some banks in the city (Ibadan), but we were able to stop the crime before it was committed. They planned to strike in Ibadan and thereby disrupt the peace the citizens of the city had been enjoying recently.”
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