Robbers in possession of 13 motorcycle arrested in Osun

In line with the promise of the Osun State Commissioner of Police’s assurance to work towards ensuring that Osun State records minimal crime, two suspects who specialised in dispossessing their victims of their motorcycles have been arrested by policemen from Osun State Police Command.


This was revealed to Crime Reports recently during a press briefing when the police commissioner, Dorothy Gimba, said that a commercial motorcyclist, one Abass Mutairu reported at ‘A’ Division, Ede that a passenger who engaged his services snatched his unregistered Bajaj Boxer Motorcycle with engine number DUZWCJ-40172 and chassis number MDZA18A9CWJ399262. The okada rider also told the policemen that he could identify his assailant if seen.

Fortunately, Gimba said, the complainant saw the suspect a few weeks later at Oja-Oba area, Osogbo and he immediately reported at Oja-Oba Police Station, leading to the arrest of one Abdullahi Akinloye (22). Akinloye’s arrest invariably led to the arrest of his partner-in-crime, Adegoke Emmanuel (27) who is said to be a car-snatching ex-convict from Ilesa prison.

Recovered from the two suspects were 13 motorcycles of different brands while three of their victims had shown up to identify their motorcycles, the police commissioner said.

She added that investigation into the activities of the suspects would continue, while they would be charged to court afterwards.

Akinloye, an indigene of Ede town, confessed to the crime during an interview with Crime Reports. He stated: “I was schooling before I started commercial motorcycling. I later followed a friend who is a driver to Abeokuta where I worked as a motor boy before I had this case of okada stealing. It was in May that I robbed the man, called Abass of his okada and sold it to one Goke.

“I started robbing people of their motorcycles this year. I used to operate alone. I would pretend that I wanted to collect something from someone. While waiting under a mango tree in Ogbomoso, I would pluck mangoes and once the rider would be busy, I would ride their okada away. The last one I did, I chartered the okada for N1,700. When we got to a mango tree in Ogbomoso, I told him to stop so that I could wait for someone who was bringing me money and he did. The man moved to the back of the mango tree to urinate, that was how I sped off with his okada.

“I was not using any weapon to rob, I only used to run away with their motorcycles when they park them. It was in Ogbomoso that I carried out all the three operations and sold them to the man who lives in Igbon, a town after Ogbomoso. I used to come from Ede to rob in Ogbomoso before I would sell them to Goke in Igbon.

“We had no fixed price for the business transaction between Goke and I. I would just call him on phone that I needed money for my school programme and he would give me any amount. He gave me N20,000 for the first one and N50,000 for the second one. He was yet to give me money for the third one.

Emmanuel also confessed to being a buyer of the stolen motorcycles. According to him, “I hail from Ogbomoso but live in Igbon. I am 27 years old. I trade in clothes where I live. It is true that Akinloye used to sell okada to me and I knew he was dispossessing their owners of them. I had bought three from him so far.

“The police had arrested him before at Iresaadu town. He was also identified by his victim then and we were told to buy another one for the victims. I also took them to the person I sold the okada to. When the latest one occurred, the police came to recover all the motorcycles from me.”