BY TIMOTHY AGBOR
No fewer than 20 suspected criminals were on Tuesday, paraded by the Ekiti State Police Command for offences ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism, attempted murder, burglary, and conspiracy.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Sunday Abutu, while speaking at the parade held at the Rapid Response Squad office, Ado Ekiti, said the suspects were arrested at different locations and accused them of terrorising the state.
Abutu said the arrests were made possible through the efforts of men of the command and necessary information from residents of the state.
Among the suspects paraded was a man, Akindele Opeyemi Olufemi, who allegedly broke into a church in Osun State and stole over N600,000 offerings contributed by the congregation.
The 32-year-old Olufemi was arrested at a “Stop and Search Point” of the Safer Highways of the Command. He was on a motorcycle and had a bag on him. It was gathered that he initially rebuffed all attempts to search his bag but was later overpowered by the police.
After a thorough search, different denominations of Nigerian currency were found in his possession.
Olufemi could not give a clear explanation as to how the money came about, but after further interrogation, it was discovered that the suspect allegedly stole the money from the Christ Apostolic Church, Camp Ground in Ikeji, Ara-Ikeji, Osun State, and was intercepted by the men of the Ekiti State Police Command on his way to the state.
He confessed to the commission of the crime, saying he served in the Church for two years as a security guard before he resigned earlier this year.
The suspect said he returned to the Camp Ground in a guise of conducting a “personal all night prayer” before breaking the Church offering vault and carted away the money.
The PPRO confirmed that the suspects confessed to having committed the crime during the investigation.
He said the suspects would be charged to court after completion of the necessary investigation, saying those at large would soon be arrested by officers of the command.
Other items recovered from the suspects included two big power generating sets, shoes, clothes, and money.
