Hoodlums Who Shot Police Officer During Robbery Operation Arrested. Photo

The police in Ogun State on Thursday said they had arrested two members of an armed robbery gang who shot and injured the Divisional Police Officer of Ogbere Police Division. The command added that a leader of the gang was killed during a shootout with the police.

The DPO, CSP Adeyinka Akingbade, was shot after he led policemen in his division to a robbery scene at a hotel in Itele-Ijebu. He was said to have been ambushed by the robbers and shot at a close range.

The Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, on receiving the information about the attack on the DPO, gave a marching order to the Officer-in-Charge, FSARS, DSP Uba Adam, to fish out the hoodlums within 24 hours.

“The FSARS team swung into action immediately and their effort paid off after six hours when the hideout of the robbers was located.

“On sighting the policemen, the robbers engaged them in a gun battle which lasted for about an hour. At the end of the encounter, two of the robbers, identified as Wasiu Ganiyu and Azeez Komolafe, were arrested, while the leader of the gang, known simply as Mungo Park, was shot dead. Other members of the gang escaped with bullet injuries,” Oyeyemi said.

The spokesman for the police added that two AK-47 rifles with 120 rounds of ammunition were recovered at the hideout of the robbers.

Oyeyemi said the state CP, Iliyasu, who was happy about the arrest, appealed to members of the public, especially hospital workers, to report anybody seen with gunshot injuries to the police.

“He noted that the Ogbere division’s DPO was one of the best performing DPOs in the command. He prayed for his quick recovery,” the PPRO added.