Policeman nabbed for robbery as handcuffed suspect escapes

THE city of Ilorin, capital of Kwara State was shocked to discover that a suspect in handcuffs disappeared from police custody early this week in very bizarre circumstances, leaving many wondering what was amiss as a  policeman has been remanded in prison for alleged involvement in armed robbery.

The suspect (names withheld) said to have been a former student of the Federal Polytechnic Offa who was expelled for alleged involvement in anti-social behaviour had been picked by security operatives for allegedly selling a rifle to another suspect, who is being held by the police.

Sources said he was picked up in his residence at Agbo-Ile in the Offa Garage area of Ilorin but he escaped while the police were still preparing papers for his appearance in court. The suspect was said to be a son of a traditional chief in the area.

As at the time of filing this report, two of the suspect’s younger brothers had been arrested to lure him back into the hands of security agents. However the Kwara State Police Spokesman, Femi Fabode, denied knowledge of the incident when he was contacted for confirmation of the story.

In a similar development, an Ilorin Magistrate Court on Thursday remanded a policeman, Salami Adesina, and three others in prison for alleged involvement in armed robbery. The other accused persons are Raman Musa, Emmanuel Ogbonaya and Abolarin Sunday.

They were said to have robbed their victim of the sum of N20,000 and one Nokia cell phone at gun point and were arraigned before the court on a two-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery, which the prosecutor argued contravened  Section 97 of the Penal Code and Section 1(2) of the Armed Robbery and Firearms Act.

The policeman, serving with Police 'A' Division, Ilorin, was said to have been attached to the Stanbic Bank on Unity Road in Ilorin before his alleged involvement in the crime. He was said to have been issued with a service browning pistol with 10 rounds of live ammunition for official use.

The accused was said to have on the day in question  introduced himself to three people as a police officer and went ahead to arrest them without any reason. The arrested persons were said to have been handcuffed and with the assistance of the other accused, taken on motorcycles to a secluded spot around Flower Garden area of the metropolis where they were allegedly disposed of the money on them.

During the hearing, police prosecutor, Chris Koregee, asked the court to remand the accused persons in prison pending the completion of investigation into the case, a request the presiding Magistrate, Bola Mohammed,  acceded to as the court ordered the remand of all the accused at the Federal Prison Yard, Ilorin. The case was subsequently adjourned  to October 24 for further mention