Police parade 30 suspected robbers, cultists in Ilorin

The Kwara state police command on Wednesday arrested 19 suspected armed robbers and 11 suspected cultists within the Ilorin metropolis, two weeks after the new commissioner of police, Mr. Bolaji Fafowora, resumed duty.

Parading the suspects in Ilorin, the commissioner of police said the suspects, which included a 65-year old locally-made gun repairer, would soon be charged to court after conclusion of investigations into the cases.

The police boss, who said that some of the communities where the suspected armed robbers operated before their arrest included Ogele, Shao road, Alapata, Kangu-Olunlade, Fate, Water View, and Zango, added that some of the exhibits recovered from them were locally made pistols, Dane guns, locally cut-to-size pistols, battle axes, criminal charms, parcels of weed suspected to be Indian hemp, electricity transformer’s armoured cables and two Bajaj motorcycles.

The police also paraded a five-member syndicate that allegedly defrauded six victims of about N4million.

Daily Trust learnt that the suspects specialized in deceiving innocent commuters with fake foreign currencies after which such victims were defrauded of their monies.

“Their operational vehicle, a Mazda 323 with registration number FUF 646 XA Kwara taxi colour, was also recovered”, the police commissioner said.

One Abubakar Ibrahim, male, of Zango area was also paraded for alleged vandalization of electricity transformer’s armoured cable at Adelodun road, Ilorin on September 11, 2018.

“The suspect and his co-culprits were seen loading vandalized transformer armoured cables on their motorcycle. When the eagle-eyed policemen on patrol of the area questioned them about the armoured cables, they abandoned the motorcycle and their loot and took to their heels.

“They were given hot chase and the suspect, Abubakar Ibrahim, was arrested. However, the vandalized armoured cables were recovered while effort is being intensified to arrest the fleeing suspects”, he said.