Three men, suspected to be armed robbers, were on Saturday apprehended by security operatives attached to the convoy of the governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
The incident occured at Ayebode-Ekiti in Ikole Local Government Area of the state, while the governor was on his way to Omuo in Ekiti East Local Government Area to monitor the monthly sanitation exercise.
The suspeted robbers tried to escape when they sighted the governor’s convoy, but three of them were unlucky as they were caught inside the bush while trying to escape.
The arrested suspects gave their names as Usman Ahmed, Omolayo Seun and Niyi Bamisile, while three other suspected members of the gang escaped.
The monthly sanitation exercise in the state was shifted from last Saturday to yesterday owing to whst the state government said was “logistic reasons.”
The duo of Seun, who wore a female dress and Ahmed claimed that they were not robbers but were on their way from the bush where they had gone to ease themselves, but Niyi who was in the same Suzuki minibus numbered XB 626 KER, gave a contrary account.
However, residents of Ayebode Ekiti who came to the scene of the incident applauded the Governor for apprehending the suspects; adding that the community and other neighbouring communities had in the past two weeks had tough times in the hands of the hoodlums, resulting in the death of two people in the community.
Speaking shortly after the incident, Governor Fayemi said he had spoken to the authority of the Nigeria Police in the state to beef up security in all the gateway points in the state to prevent “opportunistic attacks” by hoodlums whose plans was to rob people of their goods in this yuletide season.
The governor urged residents to always be vigilant and alert the police about any suspicious persons in the neighbourhood.
“Last week I was in Ikole for my town hall meeting and one of the most serious issues raised by the community leaders at Ikole was the spate of robberies that had been going on on that road for the last two weeks”.
He added: “To imagine that I and my entourage had to be confronted that simply underscores what the people have been going through and I am glad that we apprehended three of them though they have some explaining to do but I have told the Police authority that we must focus on those gateway points in the state particularly in this yuletide season”.
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