Ondo State | Police Parade Nine Criminal Suspects Including A Woman. Photo

The Ondo State Police Command has paraded nine crime suspects, apprehended from various parts of the state in the last one month.

Addressing newsmen at the state command headquarters in Akure, Commissioner of Police, Hilda Ibifuro-Harrison, stated that among the suspects was a telecommunications mast vandal, vehicle thief, fake soldier as well as a kidnapper.

The Police boss said “from the nooks and crannies of the state, from Akure to Ondo to Owo, persons have been robbed of their various articles of trade, personal properties, including vehicles as you can see displayed.

“Some of these persons were arrested ‎for vandalizing an MTN mast.

“Somewhere around the bank too, some other persons were arrested, while locally made pistols were recovered from them as well as an Army camouflage uniform,” she said.

She further revealed that some persons were kidnapped along Isua /Ose Road and three kidnappers were arrested.

Praising members of the public, she said “the Police cannot work without information and intelligence, I must therefore commend all those persons who have found time to inform us.

Mrs Harrison explained to the press that in Ondo State, telephone numbers of tactical leaders and various teams had been circulated for easy access in case of emergency occurrences.

She said members of the public had been responding to the telephone numbers by giving the force useful information that have helped to track and arrest individuals involved in crime.

“I once again want to appeal to members of the public not to get tired of the Police. We are working for you and when we work with you, we achieve better results, that is the essence of community policing,” she urged.

One of the armed robbery suspects who was apprehended, Gbenga Adewale, claimed to be an auto mechanic as he was caught with a stolen Toyota Camry.

Adewale denied the allegations, claiming that he had personally purchased the car, which is worth over three million Naira.

“I bought ‎Muscle Camry from Tosin, I gave him 650 thousand Naira and he said he wanted to sell it for 1.9 million Naira”.

Another crime suspect, 18-year-old Elijah Okpara said: “I told an elderly friend that I don’t have work and money and he said he would introduce me to a business.

“When I met him, he gave me a bag containing clothes but I didn’t know a gun was wrapped in the cloth.

“The security men in the area suspected our movements, chased us and handed us over to the Police who opened the bag and found the gun in it,” he said.