Oyo: Police arrest suspected cult leader, robbers, recover five guns

The Oyo State Police Command has arrested several suspects over alleged unlawful possession of firearms, armed robbery and cult-related activities, recovering five firearms and other dangerous weapons during separate operations across the state.

The Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, disclosed this on Monday during a press briefing at the police headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Ayodeji Abimbola.

Ayanlade said the arrests followed intelligence gathering and sustained operations aimed at tackling violent crimes and other criminal activities in the state.

Among those arrested was Ayobami Durodoye, a tertiary institution student whom the police described as an award-winning physics student at one of the state’s institutions and alleged leader of the Eiye Confraternity.

According to the police spokesperson, Durodoye was arrested alongside two other suspects, Samuel Bankole and Sunday Obasola, over alleged possession of a firearm, a locally made cut-to-size gun and ammunition.

Ayanlade said the three suspects confessed during interrogation to belonging to the Eiye Confraternity.

He added that the Anti-Cultism Unit arrested two suspected members of a robbery syndicate, identified as Timileyin Idowu, 23, and Qudus Agoro, 25.

The suspects were allegedly involved in dispossessing residents of their valuables, particularly mobile phones, at different locations in Ibadan and its environs.

Ayanlade explained that their arrest followed intelligence gathering after the alleged ringleaders of the syndicate had earlier been arrested, prosecuted and remanded in custody.

He further disclosed that six other suspects were arrested at different locations following months of intelligence gathering. Operatives of the Command’s Monitoring Unit reportedly raided their suspected hideouts.

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The suspects were identified as Idowu Olanrewaju, Saheed Lateef, Adewale Lawal, Yusuf Adeyemi, Isiaka Kayode and Bashiru Yusuf.

The police spokesperson listed the recovered weapons as five firearms, including a revolver pistol, a Beretta pistol, a pump-action firearm and a locally made cut-to-size pistol, alongside cutlasses of different makes and other exhibits.

Ayanlade commended members of the public for providing what he described as accurate and actionable intelligence, noting that their cooperation had helped the police identify and apprehend suspected criminals.

He urged residents to continue collaborating with the police by promptly reporting suspicious activities and providing credible information that could help prevent crime and facilitate arrests.

“Policing is everybody’s duty,” Ayanlade said, stressing that cooperation between the police and the public remained essential to tackling violent crime in the state.