The bus used by the bandits
A police sergeant, Lawal Garba, on Thursday rode on a motorcycle to pursue a gang of suspected armed robbers; and incapacitate them.
The suspected robbers had entered Abeokuta, the Ogun State Capital through Adigbe-Obada Oko road, off the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, in a convoy of two vehicles – a white Ford van without registration number and an unmarked sport car.
The gang were allegedly driving in a suspicious manner along Agbeloba- Pepsi-Quarry road area of the town when residents of the area raised alarm. Mr. Garba, who was in the area, flagged down a commercial motorcycle and used it to chase the suspects.
The police officer subsequently shot two of the tires of the Ford bus.
The driver of the bus, who tried to run away, was hit by the policeman’s bullets, while other members of the gang escaped.
Police reinforcements later arrived the scene and took away the injured driver.
Speaking to journalists at the scene of the incident, the Ogun State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said the command had alerted neighboring commands to be on the lookout in order to intercept other fleeing suspects.
In a related development, Mr. Adejobi said the command has killed four armed robbers after a fierce gun duel at Odan Abuja near Igbesa in Ado Odo Otta Local Government Area of Ogun on Tuesday night. He said a team of officers of the Special Anti robbery Squad of the Ogun police, led by Ahmed Tijani, engaged the armed robbers in their hideout at Igbesa where four of them fell and some escaped with bullet wounds.
“Intelligence gathering had revealed that the same set of robbers were those who killed 4 members of Vigilante Service of Ogun State at Onihale in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State some weeks back; and had also been fingered in the killing of a policeman attached to the SARS in Lagos State recently,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman said a Nissan sunny car with registration number JJJ 106 BE; one pump action gun loaded with cartridge; one Ghana made double barrelled pistol loaded with live ammunition; five expended cartridges, one AK 47 magazine loaded with 20 live ammunition; two unregistered Bajaj motorcycles; and charms were recovered from the robbers.
He appealed to residents to assist the police in a bid to flush out hoodlums from Ogun State.