From: Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Corporal Akpan Edet, 28, who is believed to be a serving soldier with 81 Batallion of the Nigerian Army, Mokola, Ibadan, has been arrested along with four civilians for allegedly hijacking fuel-laden truck in Ibadan.
They were among the 18 suspects paraded by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abiodun Odude, at the police command headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, on Friday.
Odude stated that the soldier and Onyeka Joshua,34, Onhonwen Raphael, 32, Ugo Monday, 31, as well as Ifeanyi Emmanuel, were arrested on November 17, this year, for hijacking the truck at a spot along Akobo-Iwo Road, Ibadan.
His words: “The gang led by the soldier,who was clad in full military camouflage, on November 17, 2017 at 2130 hours (9:30p.m), hijacked a 40,000 litre truck with Registration Number ABUJA ABC 132 XA and abducted the driver and his motor boy to Omi-Adio area after robbing them of their money and other valuables.
“The truck was thereafter driven to Akure-Ilesa Road by some of the gang members. The alarm raised by the victims attracted some members of the community, who in collaboration with the police arrested them.
“The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)of the command swung into action immediately, and further investigation carried out by the SARS yielded fruitful results as three other members of the gang were arrested in their various criminal hideouts in Ibadan and the truck eventually recovered.”
In an interview with journalists, the soldier confessed to the crime, saying he had participated in two operations, but the first one was abortive, while the second operation was successful before their arrest.
Another member of the gang, Onyeka Joshua, stated that the gang used the soldier to stop the truck and asked for the waybill of the truck. But driver could not produce the document, adding that they discovered that the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the truck was a product of pipeline vandalism.
Besides, three employees of a Chinese firm, George Investment Company, Ibadan have been nabbed for purportedly stealing six SINO trucks of the company, which the police said were sold for N20million. The suspects were arrested in Edo State and Abuja.
But one of the suspects, Olaronbi Saheed, 27, who introduced himself as a manager of the company, said himself and Abdulkareem Yusuf, 35, sold the six trucks to Ibrahim Babankulu in Kaduna at the rate of N4million each.
Odude said all the six trucks have been recovered, as well as a Toyota Camry, which is the official car the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Wang Shou Bo, gave to Saheed, and one other car.
The paraded suspects also included a woman, Alimat Mustapha, 40, arrested in Ogbomoso for parading herself as an inspector in the Nigeria Police, after she was dismissed in 2017 as a sergeant. The suspects also comprised self-confessed cultists nabbed for armed robbery, armed robbers, criminal receiver of stolen vehicles, and currency counterfeiter.