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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Men of the Ekiti State Police Command have arrested a man, Bernard Shadrack, while attempting to snatch a motorcycle from a commercial rider.
The Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Police Command, Adeniran Akinwale, said the suspect was nabbed by men of Oye Divisional Police Headquarters in collaboration with some residents of Trinity Hostel Area, along Egbe Road, Oye Ekiti, on Thursday.
Akinwale, in a statement issued on Saturday by the command’s spokesperson, Sunday Abutu, said investigation revealed that the suspect and his fleeing gang member specialise in snatching motorcycles from innocent motorcyclists within Oye-Ekiti, but ran out of luck on Thursday.
Narrating how the suspect was arrested, Abutu said: “They (the suspect and another at large) disguised as passengers going to Trinity Hostel along Egbe Road, Oye Ekiti, boarded the motorcycle and at a point, while on their way, forcibly asked the rider to stop which he obliged.
“The suspects then attacked the motorcyclist with dry grounded pepper, and hammer and attempted to snatch his motorcycle. The rider fortunately subdued them with the assistance of passers-by and arrested one while the other escaped. Efforts are ongoing to arrest the fleeing gang member.
“In the course of an investigation, two commercial motorcycle riders who earlier reported a case of their motorcycles came and identified the arrested suspect as one of the two-man gang that snatched their motorcycles on 2nd April and 22nd April respectively.
“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the commission of the crime and said that the fleeing suspect was his leader in the unlawful business of snatching motorcycles. He further stated that they both came from Benin, Edo State and started the unlawful business in November 2023.”