Kwara Police parades 7 suspected armed robbers, 4 poly students

Kwara State Police Command yesterday raised the alarm over alleged involvement of undergraduate students of tertiary institutions in the state in series of criminal acts.

Commissioner of Police, Ambrose, while parading seven suspects arrested in the past one week  within and around Ilorin said four of the suspects are male students of Federal Polytechnic, Offa, arrested for armed robbery.

The police boss, who said one of the suspects was a neighbour to the victim, added that the students, on interrogation, confessed to being members of Eiye Confraternity cult and also confessed to being behind the spate of robbery cases in Offa and its environs in recent times.

Recall that the state police command paraded some suspects, who were students of College of Health Technology Offa last month for offences ranging from rape, cultism and armed robbery.

According to him: “On April 18, 2014, at about 0015hrs at Atari area of Offa while on raid of criminals’ hide out by eagle eyed officers of the command, the suspects were arrested after robbing one Adeyolu Emmanuel ‘m’ of his property such as laptops, four telephones, one deck with speakers and N30,000 cash while armed with dangerous weapons like cutlasses, axe and mask.
“On interrogation, the suspects confessed to being members of Eiye cult and also confessed to have been responsible for robberies around Offa and its environs in recent times,” he said, adding that the case would be charged to court after investigation is concluded.

The police command said it also recovered two AK 47 rifles, which were dropped by hoodlums in a bush before The Federal Polytechnic, Offa, while being given a hot chase by officers of the command.

The command, which saved a madman from the hands of a mob as he was about to be lynched and set ablaze, has also warned residents of the state to desist from lynching suspected kidnappers, saying, “madness is not synonymous with criminality.”

The police boss also warned that the command would not tolerate any mob action on suspected criminals, adding that complainants should report criminal cases to the nearest police station.

He said policemen would be justified to use firearms on a mob wherever they try to set suspects on fire, adding that, “we are in a lawful society, not a lawless society.”

On measures to arrest the spread of insecurity in the state, the police commissioner said people should be security conscious always by not overlooking substances, parked vehicles, strange faces around them, adding that security was not for police alone to handle.