Crime & Court
Read Confessions Of Gang Leaders That Killed 33 People
Leaders of the robbery gang that carried out the attack that resulted in the death of 33 people in Offa, Kwara state, have confessed to how they were involved in the operation.
Nine police officers and 24 others lost their lives when a group of at least 30 armed robbers attacked Union Bank, Eco Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank, Zenith Bank and Ibolo Micro Finance Bank, as well as the Owode Police Station in Offa on April 5, 2018.
Since the robbery incident happened, 22 suspects have been arrested and were finally presented to the press during a media briefing on Sunday, June 3, 2018.
Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Jimoh Moshood, disclosed that five of the gang leaders have made confessional statements where they admitted to their roles in the bloody robbery that shocked the country two months ago.
According to him, the main gang leaders are Ayoade Akinnibosun (aka, AY), Ibikunle Ogunleye (aka Arrow), Adeola Abraham, Salawudeen Azeez, and Niyi Ogundiran, all indigenes of Oro, Irepodun local government area of Kwara.
The other major leader of the operation is Michael Adikwu, a former police corporal, who killed a total of 22 people during the robbery incident. Adikwu was attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Kwara State command before he was dismissed in 2012 for aiding the escape of some robbery suspects. He was arraigned in court and spent about three years in prison before he made his way out and created his own gang.
According to ACP Moshood, the biggest gang leader, AY, named Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Kwara state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, as his gang’s political sponsors.
Some of the gang leaders were allowed to be questioned by the press and they shed light on the issues surrounding the robbery operation including the fact that it was the first time many of them were engaging in such a crime.
Read their confessions below:
Read confessions of Offa robbery gang leaders
Ogunleye is 36-year-old who confessed to killing two people during the robbery incident. He revealed that he was only informed of the robbery three days before the operation.
He said, “It was the gang leader, Ayo, that introduced this robbery to me and I later spread it to Ade to inform the two mechanics (other gang leaders). Three days to the incident, that was when the gang leader invited us.”
Ogunleye also disclosed that he killed two people during the robbery incident because Adikwu, the ex-police officer, was disturbing him.
He said, “The two people I killed was out of fear because I was being disturbed when the whole thing was going on. The dismissed police officer, Michael (Adikwu), was shouting that day that the Nigerian police dismissed him, that they collect job from his hand, that he’ll do them shege. That was the language he used.”
While noting that the Offa incident was his first robbery operation, he said Adikwu also trained the group in the use of firearms at Ajase-Ipo, Kwara, a day to the robbery.
Adeola Abraham
Read confessions of Offa robbery gang leaders
Adeola Abraham confessed to killing five people during the Offa robbery operation (YouTube/OakTV)
35-year-old Abraham led a team of robbers to GTB during the operation and revealed to the press that he killed five people because he was stoned by members of the public outside the bank.
He said, “When we’re in operation, they start to attack us with stone, civilian people, outside the bank. I was in the front of the bank when they started shouting ‘thief, thief’ and started carrying the stone, threw the stone and then the stone knack (hit) me, that is why (I killed them).”
Ayoade Akinnibosun
37-year-old Akinnibosun has been identified as the man that coordinated the operation after working with Adikwu. While speaking to the press, he narrated how the operation started in Offa after he received guns from Adikwu.
He said, “That fateful day, it was me, this man sitting beside me here (Ogunleye), Adex, Stand Well Well, and Niyi; it was the five of us. I came to join them at Ajase then we took off with a Mercedes Benz to Offa.
“On getting there I now positioned everybody; me I stood at that junction, that Total filling station there. On getting to that filling station, we now met that Michael, that dismissed police officer. On getting to meet Michael, Michael came down from one Audi, there was a Nissan parked in front of us, he now came out of that Audi and threw his hands we now saw him and parked at the back of that Nissan. He now came out and brought guns out of that Nissan, five AK-47s, and gave it to us. Then I shared it between the five of us inside our Benz.”
Read confessions of Offa robbery gang leaders
He also named the senate president and Kwara governor as his political sponsors whom he’s done ‘political arrangements’ for for years .
He said, “I am the chairman of Liberation Youths Movement, Kwara South. My involvement with the senate president is we’re his boys; we work for him at Kwara South. We’re the ones that hold Kwara South for him. We’ve been working for him since he was Governor of Kwara.
“We mobilise and do political arrangement there (Kwara South). For example, where we can’t win, we make dabaru (disruptive) arrangement there; we scatter elections if we don’t win.
“The connections between me and the senate president is that he’s the one that is arranging everything for us. For example, this car (a Lexus jeep GX-300) was given to me by His Excellency (Governor Ahmed) through the Chief of Staff of Kwara state as a gift from leader, Bukola Saraki. I participated in the Offa robbery. I took this Lexus car along to Offa.
“The senate president and governor of Kwara state (Ahmed), we have been their political thugs, and that’s what encouraged us to do what we’re doing.
Even though Akinnibosun noted that their alleged sponsors didn’t know about their robbery plans, Chief of Staff to Governor Ahmed, Yusuf Abdulwahab, and his personal assistant on politics, Alabi Olalekan, are two of the 22 suspects who have been arrested in connection to the robbery incident.
Salawudeen Azeez
Another 49-year-old, Salawudeen Azeez, was presented as a gang leader involved in the robbery operation. Azeez disclosed that he was introduced to the gang while repairing a car for them. The mechanic killed two people during the operation.
Two witnesses remain at large
In a statement signed by ACP Moshood on May 4, he released the pictures of four suspects who were placed at the scene of the crime and declared them wanted with a bounty of N5 million placed on their heads by the Kwara state government.
Adikwu and Ogunleye were two of those suspects, and have been arrested since then, meaning the other two remain at large as investigations continue into the tragedy of the Offa robbery.
Offa robbery suspects wanted by the police
These two Offa robbery suspects remain at large with a N5 million bounty on their heads (NAN)
The suspects have been placed on the watch list of the International Police and members of the public have been encouraged to contact with any information that could lead to their arrests on these hotlines: 08062080913, 08126285268, 08032365122, 07056792065, and 08088450152.
https://iso.keq.mybluehost.me/police-arrested-wanted-offa-bank-robbers/
A Magistrate Court sitting in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, has granted human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, bail to the tune of ₦30 million. The court also mandated Farotimi to provide three sureties with landed properties within its jurisdiction.
As part of the bail conditions, the court ordered Farotimi to refrain from granting media interviews and to submit his international passport to the authorities. The case has been adjourned to February 13, 2025, for further proceedings.
Farotimi, who had been remanded at a correctional center in Ado Ekiti, arrived at the court premises on Friday at approximately 9:45 a.m. He was conveyed in a prison van accompanied by a police escort. Upon arrival, the embattled lawyer raised his hands in appreciation of a cheering crowd that had gathered outside the court to show their solidarity.
The human rights advocate is facing prosecution for allegedly defaming a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Afe Babalola. His arrest has ignited widespread public outcry, with many Nigerians and civil society groups condemning the action and demanding his immediate release.
Farotimi’s detention and subsequent arraignment have fueled debates about the boundaries of free speech and defamation laws in Nigeria, with critics arguing that the case may stifle dissenting voices in the country.
Police operatives have apprehended a 25-year-old man, Enediong Bassey, in possession of a pump-action gun concealed in a bag of rice at Nkwelle-Ezunaka.
The suspect, a native of Ikono Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State, was arrested on November 22, 2024, at 6:38 pm following credible intelligence.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Police Public Relations Officer, Anambra State Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga.
The statement revealed that officers attached to the 3-3 Divisional Headquarters, led by CSP Emeka Obi, acted swiftly to intercept Bassey.
During interrogation, he admitted to being a member of a local vigilante group but confessed to plans of absconding with the weapon to join a criminal gang involved in armed robbery and other illicit activities.
“Given the above and following other complaints and unprofessional conduct by some security outfits and vigilante members, the Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam, in line with the principles of community policing, reiterates the calls for profiling of security operatives assisting the police and other security agencies on anti-crime operations to improve safety in the state,” the statement read.
In light of the situation, the Commissioner of Police has directed the immediate transfer of the suspect to the command’s anti-robbery squad for a thorough investigation.
The Anambra State Police Command reassured residents of its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of lives and property, urging vigilance and collaboration with law enforcement.
Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered an accelerated trial of four bloggers accused of defaming and cyberstalking the management of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), including its Group CEO, Mr. Segun Agbaje.
The defendants—Precious Eze, Olawale Rotimi, Rowland Olonishuwa, and Seun Odunlami—face a 10-count amended charge for allegedly publishing false and defamatory content about GTCO on various social media platforms.
During proceedings on November 13 and 14, Justice Faji dismissed their bail applications, citing the severity of the charges, which carry potential penalties of up to 14 years in prison.
The judge specifically noted that Precious Eze had previously been charged with a similar offense in another court and was on bail at the time of the alleged actions, demonstrating a likelihood of reoffending.
Justice Faji emphasized the destabilizing impact such actions could have on the banking sector, pointing to the cross-border nature of some of the allegations.
“The regulatory oversight of institutions like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should not be undermined by false claims,” the judge remarked, referencing GTCO’s CBN-approved audited statements.
At the previous hearing, defense counsel Afolabi Adeniyi had urged the court to grant bail on liberal terms, arguing that the defendants were ready to stand trial.
However, the prosecution counsel, Chief Aribisala, SAN, opposed the motion, raising concerns about the defendants potentially absconding and stressing the need for a swift trial.
In his ruling, Justice Faji rejected the defense’s plea, ordering an expedited trial to address the case’s significant implications for the financial industry.
The trial has been adjourned to December 10 and 12 for continuation.
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