The Oyo State Police Command has arrested two suspected armed robbers and recovered a firearm allegedly used in a highway robbery operation along the Oyo-Iwo Expressway in Afijio Local Government Area.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, disclosed the development in a statement issued on Tuesday in Ibadan.
According to Ayanlade, the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday, July 5, after the Police Control Room at Eleyele received a distress call that armed robbers had barricaded the Oyo-Iwo Expressway around Akoda Village in Afijio Local Government Area.
The suspects reportedly attacked motorists and passengers returning from a nearby market towards Iwo, dispossessing them of their valuables. Some victims also sustained machete injuries during the attack.
Ayanlade said the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Abimbola Olugbenga, immediately deployed operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) to the scene.
He explained that the officers swiftly secured the area, rescued the victims and carried out a search of the crime scene, leading to the recovery of a single-barrel gun and two clubs believed to have been used by the robbers.
The police spokesman added that intelligence-led investigations later led operatives to the hideouts of the suspects, identified as Abubakar Jape and Sheu Dengi.
According to him, the suspects confessed to participating in the robbery during interrogation.
He further stated that an identification parade was conducted, during which victims positively identified the suspects as members of the gang that attacked and robbed them. A search of one of the hideouts also led to the recovery of a rechargeable torch reportedly stolen from one of the victims.
Ayanlade said the Commissioner of Police commended the professionalism and swift response of the operatives, describing the arrests as another milestone in the command’s efforts to combat violent crime across the state.
He added that efforts were ongoing to track down other members of the gang still at large and urged residents to continue providing timely and credible information to security agencies to aid crime-fighting efforts.
The Oyo-Iwo Expressway, which links communities in Oyo State with neighbouring Osun State, has witnessed occasional cases of highway robbery, particularly during early morning and late-night hours. Security agencies have recently intensified patrols and intelligence-driven operations along the corridor to improve safety for motorists and traders using the route.
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