Court Remanded 17 Thugs In Ibadan Prison Over Destroying Shops And Looting

Seventeen(17) suspects have been arrested for looting and destroying shops around Idi Arere area in Ibadan,Oyo State there were subsequently remanded in Agodi prison by an  Ibadan Magistrate  Court

The suspects were arraigned before Magistrate Oladele Adisa on Wednesday.The suspects numbering 17, including four minors were said to have masterminded the mayhem, which rendered many homeless with goods valued at about N40 million either looted or burnt to ashes on Sunday, January 3. The accused persons were arraigned before Magistrate Oladele Adisa on a three count charge of conspiracy, arson ‎and stealing.In the charge no: MI/91C/2019, the accused pleas were not granted.

The accused persons included two women, four minors and 11 others. They were Adesola Bukola, (38); Ayobami Os‎uolale (37); Olayode Lateef (21); Farouk Adedolapo (16); Samson Ayomide (20); Dada Kayode (25); Taye Popoola (20); Kudus Ibrahim (14); and Olatunji Samuel (19). Others were Adewale Malik (14); Sakura Adegoke, (25); Toheeb Abiodun (24); Sunmonu Kudus (25); Azeez Salau,(24); Akande Saheed (15); Ojekunle Lekan (19) and Sadiq Tirimisiyu (19).The prosecutor, Mrs. Bola Oloko, told the court that ‎the accused persons and others now at large conspired among themselves to commit arson and stealing.Oloko further explained that the accused ‎and others now at large did unlawfully set fire to houses and shops valued at N40million.

According to her, they stole Plasma TV sets, tailoring materials, phones; properties of Tajudeen Ajiboye, Ibrahim Olasupo, Muritala Ibrahim, Mariam Jeje and Zainab Ba‎bayanju valued at N25million.The prosecutor said the offences were contrary to and punishable under Section 516, 443 and 383 and punishable under Section 390 (9) of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Vol.II Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria 2000.In his ruling, Magistrate Adisa ordered that the accused persons be remanded in prisons custody while the four juvenile be arraigned in juvenile court and kept in the remand home till March 8 for legal advice from Director of public prosecution in the state.

With no fewer than 30 shops and several houses burgled and set ablaze by suspected miscreants popularly called One Million Boys, in some areas of Ibadan, weekend, residents and traders in the area have started counting their losses worth millions of naira The affected areas were Idi-Arere, Asaka and Oja-Igbo in Ibadan South East, Ibadan South West and Ibadan North East Local Governments Areas. Miffed by the incident, the state government has vowed to bring the culprits responsible for the incident to book. Speaking with journalists, one of the victims, Mr. Kolawole Sodehinde, said the incident at Idi-Arere was carried out by some known hoodlums around 2 am on Sunday. Sodehinde said that the suspected hoodlums had besieged the area with rifle and petrol which they used in perpetrating the dastardly act. “We called the police at Mapo Police Station who refused to answer us. We called the fire service who said they can only come if they have police protection. “I later called the Commissioner of Police who sent a team of policemen to the scene within 15 minutes,’’ he said. Sodehinde said that the eight shops burgled in the area were also set ablaze by the suspected hoodlums. Another victim, Kazeem Adepoju, who spoke with Vanguard, disclosed that the affected structures included shops belonging to fashion designers, soft drink sellers, electronics sellers, frozen food sellers and cooking material sellers, among others. “It was when we woke up that we saw everything. It is not up to Popoyemoja, it stopped at Idi-Arere, from the junction to Bode Road.”

“Though, I didn’t count the number of shops, but, it stretched from the junction to the Alleluyah petrol station. But, we are talking of about 30 shops on both sides of the road.” At Asaka area, Basirat Ahmed and Adigun Mutiu described the perpetrators as known hoodlums, who also engaged in robbery in the area. The duo said that the eight shops burgled in the area were also set ablaze by the suspected hoodlums. However, Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who expressed sympathy with the victims of the mayhem, yesterday, during on-the-spot inspection to the area, has mandated the state Police Command to fish out the perpetrators of the act at different locations in the state, saying that anyone arrested should be treated like a hardened criminal. Ajimobi, who was represented by his deputy, Chief Moses Adeyemo, said that the state government would not condone such dastardly act in the state.

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