Kunle ADELABU & Wale JAGUN
Efforts to cleanse Ikorodu of the menace of cultism and other criminalities continued with the arrest of 12 Eiye cult members, one robber and three other criminals at various parts of the town in the early hours of Sunday, June 23, 2019.
They were arrested by the Onyabo Vigilance group during an operation led by its Provost Marshal, Mr Lanre Labinjo.
It was gathered that some of those arrested were on the wanted list of the local security outfit and after interrogation, they made useful information on how to track down others that are on the run.
Those arrested were Afeez Olayiwola, 20 years and bricklayer from Kwara State, Olusesi Sodiq, 19 years motor boy from Abeokuta, Ogun State, Ajewole Saula, 20 years scrap picker from Ogijo, Ogun State, Saheed Habibu, 19 year old conductor from Shagamu, Ogun State, Waheed Raheem, 19 year old conductor from Kwara State, Alliu Ibrahim, a 19 year old boy from Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Suraju Shitta, 19 year old conductor from Ikorodu and Lekan Amos, 18 year old tailor from Ikorodu.
Others were Talabi Obatula, 19 year old from Ijebu-Ife, Ogun State, Oluwatusin Odugbesan, 20 year old barber from Ogun State, Lekan Waheed, 19 year bus conductor from Ikorodu and Aina Olajire, a 24 year old bus conductor from Iperu, Ogun State.
Many of the residents that trooped to the scene were seen identifying some of the suspects as cultists and robbers who had been involved in some of the killings and unrests in Ikorodu lately .
Many of the suspects confirmed their membership of a particular cult group while others that denied their involvement were confirmed by other suspects as being parts of them.
THE IMPACT gathered that the operation that led to the latest arrest was due to a complaint by the Chief Executive Officer of a LG TV store who complained that his electronics shop located along Alhaji Street in Ikorodu has been burgled on many occasions and sought for the assistance of Onyabo.
This led the local security group to place its surveillance team in the area and this led to the arrest of a 20 years old suspected robber, Afeez Olayiwola, popularly called ‘Lander’, who was caught around 2am on Sunday with a flat screen television and a video player.
The suspect, who also confessed to being a cultist and a student of Shams-el-Deen Secondary School, Ikorodu, hails from Kwara State.
Afeez initially claimed that the electronics were given to him by a wanted suspects, Hameed, popularly called ‘Santos’, to assist him deliver them to a Mallam at Ikorodu garage roundabout but later confessed to his participation in the burglary.
“It was Hameed ‘Santos’ that brought the items (flat screen and video player) to me early in the morning on Sunday. He used to stay in our place but we have not been able to traced him.
“He came to the house around 2am on that Sunday and handed over the items with instruction that I should give it to an Hausa man at garage with the promise that he would give me #1000 if I deliver the errand as expected”.
Some victims identified Afeez as one of the robbers that robbed them in their homes but in an interview with our reporter, he confessed that the Sunday operation was the first he participated in while also claiming that those accusing him of robbing them were making wrong accusation.
Another suspect, who confessed his membership of the Eiye cult group is Odugbesan Olutosin, a 20 years old bus conductor from Abeokuta, Ogun State, who came to Ikorodu in 2010.
Olutosin stated that it was Hameed that brought the local security operatives to his house.
“It was Hameed that brought them (security men) when they were looking for Santos who was accused of stealing. That was when I was arrested too.
“I have been an Eiye member for two years”, he confessed.
Olutusin was described as a very notorious cultist and was also alleged as the person that shot and killed one innocent victim at Jaladugbo recently.
Another notorious cult suspect is 18 years old Lekan Amos who hails from Itunshokun in Ikorodu. He confessed that he has been a cult member since 2017.
“Yes, I am a member of Eiye Confraternity and I joined in 2017″.
He stated that he was arrested by the Onyabo operatives at Ikorodu garage around 5am on his way to buy clothes.
Lekan’s mother, who got the information that his son has been apprehended alongside other cult suspects, came to the office of the Onyabo Vigilance group, along Ireshe road where they were being paraded, to confirm the news.
After seeing Lekan with other suspects, she stated that she has disowned him and told the security agents to make him face the consequences of his nefarious actions.
The mother, who stated that she obtained Lekan’s bail from the Anti-Cultism Unit at Charley Boy, Gbagada, Lagos, about three months ago, added that she was seeing him for the first time since that time.
“We had an understanding when I secured his release from the anti-cultism unit. He promised to return to where he was learning tailoring as an apprentice but rather than doing that, he left home. I am just seeing him now”, his mother stated.
Robbery Victims
Some victims of robbery in Ikorodu were among the hundreds of Ikorodu residents that besieged the Onyabo office to catch a glimpse of the arrested suspects.
At the scene of the parade, some of them identified Afeez Olayiwola , also known as ‘Lander’, as the one that invaded their house and robbed them of their phones, money and other valuables.
Mrs Zainab Shakiru, a resident of No 5, Olubi Street, , Ikorodu, who alleged that Afeez was the one that robbed her in her house few days earlier, said :
“Someone came into my apartment around 2am on Saturday. I did not even know how he gained access.
“I realized that he has removed my bulbs when I tried to switch them on. He carted away my money and phones and I shouted ‘thief’, ‘thief’, other residents woke up and we searched everywhere for him.
“Before he ran out of my apartment, I was able to point searchlight at his face and discovered that it was this guy (Afeez )”.
Mr Saheed Ibrahim, another victim of Afeez, stated :
“Yes, it was him (Afeez) that robbed me too. He took my wristwatch, phones and money. I saw him jumping our fence to the other side”.
“He was wearing this same cloth (pointing to Afeez). Thereafter, I made enquiry about him and I was told that he is called ‘Lander’. He usually sits at a beer parlour in our area and he’s well known. It was his cloth that I used in tracking him.
“I came here after hearing that one of those arrested is called Lander “.
Mrs Ayobami Hamed, a resident of No 6, Oluwoga Street , Cele 2 area, Ikorodu, who was robbed early morning on same Sunday, also came to the scene with her husband to lodge complaint.
“They came to our house around 3am on Sunday. They were two and they covered their faces”, she stated.
“They removed our platsma TV, two phones and also carted away my goods”.
She explained that the robbers pointed gun at her mum when she wanted to raise alarm.
“While they were robbing us, my mum stood up to them but they pointed gun at her to calm her down”.
Our reporter also spoke with the Onyabo chieftains who provided detailed information about the operation that led to the arrest of the cult suspects and pledged to continually be on the trail of those at large.
Chief Rafiu Onilegboro, the new leader of the Onyabo Vigilance group, stated that Onyabo has been embarking on regularly patrol to apprehend suspected hoodlums and rid Ikorodu of criminals and crimes in the process .
“We have been patrolling the community since the cultists have been disturbing the peace of our people and when the Commissioner of Police came to Ikorodu, he was impressed by our operations and encouraged us to sustain the tempo. Since then, we have been patrolling strategic areas across the town consistently.
The Onyabo leader, who expressed concern over the development whereby cultists create unrest and use the situation to rob unsuspecting residents, stated that complaint by the owner of the LG shop made their operatives to focus on bringing the robbery suspects to justice.
“It was on Friday (June 21) that we received complaint that an LG shop was burgled at Alhaji Street and several electronics carted away.
“It was a development that baffled us just like when they attacked our office and when they burgled many shops and unleashed terror on the community penultimate week”, Chief Onilegboro stated.
“Though, we were able to make some arrests, but before then, many of those cultists that looted several shops during that incident had already fled the town.
“This was what prompted Lanre to ask some of our boys to do surveillance of the area where we have the LG shop and to our expectations, we caught some of them” .
Onilegboro stated that the apprehension of a suspect led to the arrest of others.
“ We actually caught one of them who confessed and led us to others and we were able to pick some of them and they have given us useful information about the whereabouts of other notorious cultists”.
He challenged the Lagos State Government to constitute a joint task force to flush out the hoodlums that allegedly fled Ikorodu and used Mushin as hideout.
“We got to know that many of them fled to somewhere in Mushin and we expect government to order a joint security operation in Mushin to arrest and flush out these hoodlums”, he challenged the government.
While stating that the arrested suspects are going to be handed over to the police for prosecution, Chief Onilegboro also added that the security outfit will be perpetually on the trail of the suspects at large.
“We are going to hand over these suspects ” to the police for diligent prosecution.
“We will also go after those that the arrested suspects have mentioned and others that are on the run after committing crimes. We shall track them down except they do not return to this town again . No matter how long it takes them to come back, we are going to pick them because their atrocities are well documented”, he stated.
Onyabo Provost Marshal, Lanre Olabinjo, in an interview with our reporter, corroborated Chief Onilegboro while narrating how the operation, that led to the arrest of the suspects, was carried out.
“It was on Saturday (June 22) that an LG shop owner called me to report that one of their shops in Ikorodu has been consistently bungled and several of their items carted away. I visited the affected shop and saw where the robbers gained entry into it and I assured him that the suspects would be apprehended”, he stated.
“This was what prompted me to deploy some of our men to the area and around 1am on Sunday morning, our men called me that they noticed that the suspected burglars were around the LG shop.
“I quickly mobilized few other men and we joined them and in the process of our surveillance, we apprehended this guy (Afeez ).
“Initially, he denied any wrong doing but later confessed that it was Ahmed ‘Santos’ that brought those items (electronics) to him to deliver to a Mallam at Ikorodu garage.
“We took him to the garage roundabout to see the Mallam but he said that he has not seen Ahmed.
Lanre stated that during the operation, he discovered that most of the suspects who are wanted for one crime or the other and whom they thought had fled the town are still around or just returned.
“It was after apprehending Afeez that we moved around and started seeing some of the cultists that caused violence in Ikorodu few weeks back and we immediately picked them”, he stated.
“We thought they had fled but some few days back, we started receiving reports that some of them are back in town or are planning to come out of their hideouts. The arrest we made early this morning (Sunday) confirmed the intelligence reports.
Lanre stated that many of the cult suspects were also involved in robbery incidents that have given Ikorodu a bad reputation.
“These guys were also responsible for various robbery incidents at Ikorodu garage and Lagos road where people are being dispossessed of their money, phones and other valuables on daily basis ”, he alleged.
“Some of the suspects, after their arrest and interrogation, told us that some of their members are at Sabo market. We swiftly moved down there and arrest another set of suspects”.
The suspects were later handed over to the police who stormed the Onyabo office around 11. 38 am. on that Sunday.
