1st April, 2015
Jethro Ibileke/Benin
The police in Benin have paraded a 35-year-old man, Etopa Sadiq, in connection with the violent bank robbery carried out on 26 March, 2015, at Owo, Ondo state.
Edo State Commissioner of Police, Samuel Adegbuyi, who paraded the robbery suspects with 27 others before journalists in Benin on Wednesday, said the suspect was arrested at Ibilo, in Akoko-Edo local government area of the state after a gun battle between operatives of the Command and the suspected bank robbers.
“On 26/03/2015, the command received information that some robbery gang had attacked some banks and police stations at Owo in Ondo state where unspecified amount of money, arms and ammunition were carted away by the hoodlums,” he said.
Adegbuyi further explained that after the robbery operation, the hoodlums headed towards Ibilo in Edo State where police operatives of the command intercepted them in a gun battle which made some of them to flee and abandoned various arms and ammunition carted away from the attacked police stations in Owo.
He announced that one suspect, Etopa Sadiq, was arrested and that efforts were on top gear to arrest the fleeing suspects.
Items recovered from the fleeing robbery suspects include seven AK47 assault riffles, three Riot gunners, two SMG guns, two Lar riffles, 4 T06 riffles, one Scorpion rifle, one Berretta rifle, one Chief Revolver pistol, two pump action guns and one Strasser rifle.
Also recovered were police uniforms, computer set, assorted rifle magazines and cartridges, Police Crash helmets, Decoder, International passport, Audi Station Wagon car and others.
The arrested suspect, Etopa Sadiq, who suffered a fracture on his right arm from gunshot, however denied being an armed robber, but said he was a victim of stray bullet from the scene of the robbery.
He said he was wrongly arrested at Ibilo on his way to Okene his hometown where he was going to seek herbal treatment for his gunshot injury.
Among 27 other suspects paraded were armed robber, murder, kidnapping and illegal possession of firearms suspects, cultism, defilement, indecent assault and rape.