Two members of a notorious seven-person criminal gang, Chukwuma Bartholomew and Igwe Monday, have been apprehended for their involvement in the abduction and murder of Point of Sale operator Olúwaṣeun Oworu and 71-year-old farmer Adekunle Ifelaja in the Ijebu-Igbo area.
The arrests followed months of intelligence gathering and tracking by the Ogun State police command.
The suspects were apprehended at their hideouts in Ijebu on June 28, 2024.
A police source, who requested anonymity, revealed that the gang had been responsible for a series of kidnappings and murders in the Ijebu-Igbo area before their capture.
The source detailed that the syndicate invaded Oworu’s home on July 29, 2023, in the Ojowo community, robbing him of his property, including a Monie Point PoS machine, before fatally shooting him.
On November 23, 2023, the gang kidnapped 34-year-old Ogunyemi Femi from his home nearby and demanded ransom from his family after sending a video of the victim.
Despite receiving the ransom, the criminals refused to release Femi.
Emboldened by their previous crimes, the gang abducted Ifelaja from his farm in Oke-Sopen, Ijebu-Igbo, on December 31, 2023.
They recorded a video of the elderly farmer and sent it to his family via WhatsApp, demanding a ransom for his release.
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Despite the family paying the ransom, Ifelaja was not freed.
The police source further revealed that the gang used the stolen PoS machine for their criminal transactions with the victims’ families.
Ogun State police spokesperson Omolola Odutola confirmed the arrests and stated that the suspects confessed to the crimes during interrogation, including the murders of both Ifelaja and Femi.
“A thorough investigation led to the hideouts of the criminals and their arrest on June 28, 2024, in Ijebu-Igbo.
They confessed to killing Ogunyemi Femi and Sunday Ifelaja and burying them in a shallow grave in a forest in Ijebu-Igbo.
The suspects are currently assisting the police in locating the graves,” Odutola said.
Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining gang members.
n related news, on July 3, 2024, the command announced the killing of two kidnappers during a gunfight and the rescue of four travellers, including one Nigerian and three Indian nationals, abducted along the Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode expressway.
State Police Commissioner Abiodun Alamutu reported that 109 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, five AK-47 rifles, eight magazines, and two cell phones were recovered from the kidnappers.
Governor Dapo Abiodun praised the swift police operation and warned other criminals that the government would use all available resources to drive them out of the state.
