THE Ogun State Community, Social Orientation and Safety Corps (So-Safe) has confirmed the arrest of ten able-bodied young men, who often held commuters in the Sango axis of the state on the jugular.
The suspects, mostly in their twenties, in whose possession were recovered several incriminating items including local charms, pocket knife and hard drugs, clustered around major bus stops, and encircled their targets in an undesirable move of begging for alms.
Their targets, mostly young boys and girls, often get intimidated and succumb to their pressure by unwillingly parting with some amount of money.
In the event of being adamant, the miscreants resort to beating up their victims and forcefully dispossessing them of their valuables.
Between December 2023 and mid-January 2024, no fewer than 40 of the miscreants were arrested on the order of the Sango-Otta Area Commander, ACP Mohammed Sanni, and charged in court.
On the recent arrest of ten, the So-Safe Corps, in a statement issued by the Corps Commander, Dr Soji Ganzallo, through the Director of Information and Public Relations of the Corps, AC Moruf Yusuf, said that the suspects were nabbed at Sango Garage via Sango under bridge, inward Ijoko Road by Borehole and Joju bus stop.
Ganzallo stated that following a deluge of complaints from communities in Sango on the activities of the miscreants, he gave the Zonal Commander of Ado-Odo/Ota Area Command, AC Tajudeen Odunmbaku, a marching order to bring normalcy to the communities by arresting the suspects.
Consequently, operatives of the command embarked on the operation and arrested some of the criminal elements while forcefully extorting their victims, adding that, two of the suspects were arrested at Joju bus stop in the act of extorting and robbing innocent victims, “thereby causing serious phobia amongst the residents”.
The two robbery suspects, according to the statement, were Alabi Segun and Wahab Shobayo.
Their male victim was pleading with them to be allowed to go, but they held onto him and eventually dispossessed him of his belongings
The arrival of So-Safe operatives at the scene saved the situation, as they arrested the hoodlums and rescued the victim.
One of the suspects, Tope Akinola, was caught with a pocket knife, while Bidemi Oyatope (aka Faula), a member of the Eiye Confraternity, were also arrested.
Other suspects arrested by the Corps were Sunday Olude, 22; Sampson Adeoti, 25; Sunday Oluwaseyi, 24; Muhammed Danladi, 22; Wasiu Folarin, 21; Tope Akinola, 20; and Ade Adejare, 23.
The entire ten suspects, Ganzallo said, have been handed over to the Sango-Otta Divisional Police Headquarters for further investigation and likely prosecution.
Eighteen-Eleven Media