The Ogun State Police Command has arrested three members of a motorcycle-snatching syndicate terrorising the Owode-Egba area of Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area in the state.
The spokesperson of the command, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
Odutola said the suspects were apprehended following an attack on a resident of Ijemo Kukoyi village along the Shiun-Owode Expressway.
It was gathered that Rotimi Bajela informed the police that the suspected robbers had ambushed him. The robbers reportedly shot at him, but the shot did not harm him, prompting them to attack him with a machete.
“On 11 October 2024, a concerned resident provided valuable information that led the police to apprehend the suspects who attacked one Rotimi Bajela,” the PPRO stated.
“The report indicated that 60-year-old Rotimi Bajela was leaving Ajura Township and riding towards Ijemo Kukoyi Village via Owode-Egba on his Boxer Bajaj motorcycle, whose registration number is not yet known.
“As he travelled along the Ajura/Olojo/Shiun road, three men emerged from the bushes and assaulted him with a gun and a machete.
“During the attack, the assailants shot him; when the gun failed to harm or k!ll him, they resorted to hitting him with the machete on his head and neck, robbing him of his motorcycle, money, and an Itel mobile phone.”
Bajela also identified the suspected robbers as Adegboyega Sarafa, Soliu Bankole, and Sogo Idris, alias Agbara.
Armed with the identity of the suspects, police operatives tracked and arrested the trio, recovering a locally made gun and the machete used in the attack.
“When the police visited Bajela at the hospital during their investigation, he confirmed that he recognised the attackers and could identify them as Adegboyega Sarafa, 42; Soliu Bankole, 38; and Sogo Idris, alias Agbara, 46,” Odutola said.
“All three suspects were arrested on 14 October 2024, and the locally made gun and machete used during the attack were recovered.”
She added that further investigations into the matter have commenced.
