No fewer than four suspected gunrunners and 34 others have been arrested by the Oyo State Police Command over alleged armed robbery, kidnapping, car snatching, and land grabbing.
He stated that one of the alleged gunrunners was apprehended in his hideout at Danzaria, Owode, Oyo Town, while in possession of a pump action rifle bearing the serial number 2659.
“Upon interrogation, the suspect was unable to give any satisfactory explanation about the firearm.
“Further investigation led to the arrest of three other members of the criminal gang, who were found in possession of another locally fabricated Pump Action riffle, one live cartridge, and six empty shells of expended cartridges,” Osifeso said.
He stated that none of the accused could provide sufficient explanations for the firearms.
On the armed robbery suspects, he stated that two of them were caught on Christmas Day at 11 p.m., armed with firearms, Jack knives, and other criminal charms.
According to Osifeso, the armed robbery suspects took a Bajaj motorcycle into a restaurant in Bodija, Ibadan, and attacked the owner and her customers, robbing them of money and other belongings.
“During the armed robbery operation, some of the customers who managed to escape raised alarms, which attracted people in the area.
“In the process, two of the suspects were apprehended.
“The suspects and exhibits were immediately handed over to the police at Bodija.
“From there, they were transferred to the Command’s Monitoring Unit for investigation,” he said.
According to Osifeso, the suspects confessed to the armed robbery and other armed robbery operations they masterminded at several sites in Ibadan.