Hoodlums kill, burn POS operator after robbing him of N4m

Operatives of Ogun State Police Command have arrested four members of a syndicate who allegedly robbed a Point Of Sale (POS) operator, Abiodun Odebunmi, of N4million and later killed him and burnt the corpse.

The suspects are Kehinde Saliu Jelili (aka Oluomo), Abiodun Akinola, Johnson Fakeye and Jamiu Akinola, who were said to be specialised in robbing and killing POS and UBER operators.

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They were all arrested following a complaint lodged at Onipanu divisional headquarters on the 18th of April 2021, by one Aanu Salaudeen.

The complainant told police that she is a POS attendant to one Abiodun Odebunmi, a POS operator and that her boss left his office at Aparadija the previous day to meet a customer with a cash sum of N4million to be used for POS transaction.

She stated further that the said Abiodun Odebunmi didn’t return home and all calls made to his line had not been going 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 4million naira.

Oyeyemi told newsmen on Thursday that following the report, the policemen at Onipanu commenced investigation into the sudden disappearance of the man.

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

Oyeyemi said the case was transferred to the homicide section of the state criminal investigation and intelligence department on the order of the commissioner of police, Edward Awolowo Ajogun.

The Police spokesman said the CSP Femi Olabode-led homicide team, in compliance with the CP’s directive, embarked on a technical and intelligence-based investigation, which led them to Otun Ekiti in Ekiti State where the suspect was discovered to be hibernating.

He said: “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.

“On interrogation, Kehinde Salihu Jeili, who claimed to be a native of Apomu in Osun State, confessed killing the victim.

“He confessed further that he deliberately lured the victim to Ota where he and his gang members were waiting for him with the money he was asked to bring, having transacted a 1.5 million naira business with him the previous day, and that they macheted 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 spokesman said the suspect stated further that “he and his gang attacked another victim of their criminal act one Idowu Ademiluyi at Itori area and snatched his Toyota Corolla car, having matcheted him to the point of death.”

He also explained that the arrest of Kehinde Salihu led the detectives to their receiver, Abiodun Akinola, who is a standby buyer of every proceeds of their crime.

He said one Toyota Camry, one Toyota Corolla and one Toyota Rav 4, whose owners had been gruesomely murdered were recovered from the gang.

He added that the Commissioner of Police, CP Edward Awolowo Ajogun, had that ordered the suspects to be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.