… From Dele Ogunyemi, Ibadan…
The Commissioner of Police for Oyo State Command, Mr Mohammed Indabawa on Monday ordered all the police formations across the state to flush out those behind the weekend’s killing of an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ademola Adekusile.
Dare-devil armed robbers numbering about 17 had last Sunday at about 1am made frantic efforts to attack a bank adjacent a police post outside Moniya area of Ibadan during which they attacked the few policemen on duty at the police post, killing one of the officers.
The robbery gangsters also succeeded in carting away four police rifles and uniforms, even though they were prevented from breaking into the bank by the police fire power.
In a swift reaction to the development on Monday, the Commissioner of Police described as cowardly the attack by the hoodlums saying that the robbery gangsters had no place to hide because they would not only be fished out but would be made to face the full wrath of the law.
Indabawa who spoke through the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the state command, DSP Olabisi Clet- Ilobanafor, disclosed that the police is on the trail of the hoodlums with a view to arresting the culprits.
Giving an insight to what led to the killing of the police officer, the state police boss explained that in the early hours of Sunday around 1am, in the outskirt of Moniya area of Ibadan, some five men came to a police post adjacent a bank and told them that some people were making trouble with them. The officer in charge, after interrogation and knowing it was too late ,asked probing questions to ascertain the true identity of the men .
“Shortly after the men left, the policemen discovered that the bank adjacent has been surrounded by robbers attempting to break in . The policemen then alerted themselves and picked their weapons. But unknown to them, the robbers have heard them corking their guns and opened fire at them”.
The robbers who left the scene frustrated were also said to have sustained gun shots injuries as there were traces of blood on the ground.
Recovered at the scene of the failed robbery were gas cylinders, cutters, and other weapons meant for the operation but abandoned by the robbers.
“The robbers know that there is no place for them in the city so they decided to go outside where there were fewer policemen. But, I want to warn them that the state police command will ensure that everyone of them is flush out no matter where they hide. Oyo state is not a place for them to operate , so they better have a rethink. All those behind the dastardly act will certainly be flush out and made to face the wrath of the law”, the state Police boss said.