Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested three suspects allegedly behind the murder of Adeniyi Sanni, a senior aide to Senator Solomon Adeola, representing Ogun West in the Senate.
The incident reportedly happened in the early hours of Saturday, August 5, 2023, in Lagos. Sanni was reportedly stopped by a person wearing military camouflage at a checkpoint in Ojodu on his way to his home in Isheri, Lagos. He was found dead hours later.
The Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, determined to put an end to speculations, detailed his Special Squad to track down the fleeing suspects.
Parading the suspects, CP Owohunwa stated that the suspects, identified as Fred Azeez Okunnu, Lucky Idudu Michael, and Adedigba Segun, were arrested after weeks of painstaking, diligent, and discreet intelligence gathering.
He said: “Items recovered from the suspects are one Brownie pistol with 3 rounds of live ammunition, one Beretta pistol with 3 rounds of live ammunition, one locally made cut-to-size pistol with 6 live cartridges, six expended cartridges, military gear (military camouflage vest, military jungle hat, military holster, jungle boots), and one Red Honda CRV with reg number EKY 276 JD, also hijacked from a yet-to-be identified victim.
“Investigation revealed that this gang, which is being armed by one Alhaji (based in Benin Republic), specializes in robbing motorists of their unregistered vehicles. The gang has been successful in five previous operations. Their modus operandi includes stationing one gang member some meters from the Berger bus stop to spot unregistered vehicles. The spotter then calls his gang members, who are dressed in military fatigue and stationed somewhere around the Berger bus stop, to inform them of the approaching vehicle.
“Once they stop their victim, they request for the vehicle’s customs papers, as they would need to clear security and customs checks. In this incident, after seeing the papers, they insisted on taking their victim to their base. Once they entered the vehicle, it dawned on Mr. Sanni that they were robbers.
“He called out for help, which made the robbers shoot him three times and further stab him. They dropped his corpse by the roadside and drove to Kuto, Abeokuta, where they cleaned up the blood stains in the rear seats of the vehicle, and later the same night, they proceeded with the vehicle to the border town of Chikunda in Kwara State, where the criminal receiver took delivery of the car.
The suspects used military fatigue to beat checkpoints. Further investigation has revealed that the said Alhaji has other cells operating across the country. Being a transnational crime, the command is involving Interpol for the apprehension of this criminal receiver and financier.
“The place of drugs in all of this must not be omitted, as the criminals were high on drugs each time they went out for an operation. It is also noteworthy that the judicial system has not helped, as all of these suspects have been arrested before for similar crimes and were arraigned. It is sad to find them again, free but more hardened. With each freedom they get after prison, they become deadlier and more brutal, in addition to expanding their criminal network.”
