Oyo State police nabs bike-snatching gang

The Oyo State Police Command has arrested a robbery gang which specialised in snatching bikes from owners in Ogbomosho town, after luring them to deserted areas in the guise of being a passenger. The bike-snatching gang led by a physically-challenged man identified as one Sunday Olojede, aka Oba Aro. According to Crime Reports, 38-year-old Olojede was a terror to motorcycle riders.

Until his arrest, the suspect used to make his gang members follow him on one or two other motorcycles in trail of the one conveying him, after which they would attack the owner of the bike they wanted to snatch and make away with it, abandoning the owner.The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mr Sam Adegbuyi, who disclosed circumstances surrounding his arrest said that on August 13, a three-man gang of armed robbers attacked one Bolaji Matthew along Ago Are and dispossessed him of his Bajaj motorcycle.

The gang also snatched another motorcycle at gunpoint from its owner, Olusayo Alao, at the same area, but the alarm raised by the second victim attracted the Special Anti-Robbery Squad which was on routine patrol at the area.

"The SARS operatives moved swiftly to the scene and succeeded in arresting the suspect and the snatched motorcycle was recovered from him. Though other members of the gang escaped from the scene, due to diligent investigation, they were arrested in their various  hideouts and they confessed to series of robbery operations they had carried out and the number of motorcycles stolen before they were apprehended," Adegbuyi stated. Other suspects were Olayiwola Amoo (38), Abiodun Adebayo a.k.a. Omileniyan (25), Isaac Idowu a.k.a. Alausa (37), Abdullahi Adamu (50), and Rabiu Abubakar (30). The police commissioner revealed that the stolen motorcycles stolen were sold to some criminal receivers who were also arrested. Items recovered included five unregistered Bajaj Boxer motorcycles, a Bajaj Boxer motorcycle with registration number OYO FMT 688 QC and a Bajaj Boxer motorcycle with registration number OYO YNF 535QC.

Olojede, in an interview claimed that he joined the gang not too long ago.

"I have just started with the gang. The first time I went with the gang, I picked one of the gang members on a motorcycle while another member rode as a passenger on a commercial motorcycle. When the rider got to a lonely spot, the passenger who is our gang member forcefully took the key of the bike from him. At the same time, we arrived at the scene and the rider who initially wanted to put up a resistance became afraid. He left the bike and ran away. The second time was similar but we were not successful the third time," he said.

One of the victims, Olusayo Alao, also narrated his experience to Crime Reports:

"Olojede stopped me that I should take him to Ayelomo Hotel. I said I didn’t know the place and he tried to describe it. As we were going, I noticed the road he took me through was lonely and there were no houses there. Unknown to me, two others were following us on a motorcycle. Suddenly, Sunday slapped me. As I wanted to escape, the bike went off and Sunday pushed me to the ground with the bike. I got up and rained blows on him, at the same time crying for help. 

His two other gang members started beating me and when I struggled with them not to take the bike away, they carried Olojede and put him on their motorcycle. But I dragged him down from the bike. Some people and a patrol team came to where we were and helped in apprehending him."