By Ariwodola Idowu
The Ekiti Police Command said on Tuesday that it had arrested members of a six-man robbery gang that allegedly killed a member of the state House of Assembly, Michael Adedeji.
Adedeji, a Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) lawmaker representing Ekiti Southwest Constituency II, was shot in the head by his assailants on Aug. 10, 2018.
The suspects, who the police claimed had already made confessional statements, were paraded by the new Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Asuquo Amba.
The suspects, according to Amba, also allegedly killed one Kayode Omowaye when they raided OJAS Pleasure Hotels in Oye-Ekiti on Aug. 10, 2018.
The commissioner said that the exhibits recovered from the suspects were cut -to -size barrel guns, 17 live cartridges, 75 handsets, seven laptops, N147,000 cash and four stolen vehicles, one of which belonged to the late Omowaye.
The commissioner said the suspects were arrested by officers of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad(FSARS) during a stop and search operation carried out on the Ado-Iworoko road.
He said the robbery gang also invaded Afe Babalola University junior staff quarters and snatched a car belonging to one Mrs Bosede Ojo.
Amba said the command was synergising with the army and other security agencies in the state to ensure that all the border towns were safe for residents.
“We held a meeting with hunters, members of vigilante group and Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) on intelligence gathering and information flow on how to curb kidnapping in Ekiti,’’ he said.
Amba also said that a new security architecture would soon be put in place to make Ekiti unattractive for criminals.
“ We are working with the commissioners of police in Osun, Kogi, Ondo, Kwara and other border states so that our people can live in peace.
“Very soon, we are going to invade some of the forests in the state together with other security agencies to flush out those who have been kidnapping our people.
“We are mapping out strategies in this regard and those areas to carry out such operations had been surveyed,’’ he said.
The suspected gang leader had earlier told newsmen that the lawmaker was shot after he was robbed.
”We shot him (Adedeji) after robbing him. He did not struggle with us but one of us shot him. I have to confess(that) we didn’t know he was a lawmaker,’’ he said. (NAN)
