Killers of septuagenarian farmer, PoS operator arrested in Ogun

Two members of a seven-person criminal gang, Chukwuma Bartholomew and Igwe Monday, who allegedly abducted and murdered Point of Sale operator, Olúwaṣeun Oworu, and 71-year-old farmer Adekunle Ifelaja in the Ijebu-Igbo area of Ogun State, have been arrested.

On Saturday, PUNCH Online learnt that the suspects were responsible for a series of kidnappings and murders in Ijebu-Igbo before being arrested at their hideouts in Ijebu on June 28, 2024, following months of intelligence gathering and tracking by the state police command.

A police source, who was privy to the sting operation but chose to remain anonymous due to a lack of authority to speak for the command, stated that the syndicate had invaded Oworu’s house on July 29, 2023, in the Ojowo community in the city.

Our correspondent gathered that the suspects robbed the victim of his property, including a point-of-sale machine with a Monie Point account, and later shot Oworu dead before escaping the crime scene.

The source also informed our correspondent that on November 23, 2023, the same seven-man criminal syndicate stormed the home of 34-year-old Ogunyemi Femi, not far from where Oworu was allegedly shot and killed, and abducted Femi to an unknown location.

“After they kidnapped him, they took him to an unknown destination. A few days later, they made a video of the victim and sent it to his family to demand ransom.

“The family rallied around to pay the ransom, but these wicked criminals refused to release the victim to his family,” the cop said.

Emboldened by their previous crimes, the gang abducted Ifelaja from his farm at Oke-Sopen in Ijebu-Igbo on December 31, 2023, according to the police source.

PUNCH Online learnt that after capturing the elderly farmer, they recorded a video of the 71-year-old man and sent it to his family via WhatsApp, demanding a ransom for his release.

The farmer, popularly known as Adeife, had been living alone on his farm in the Odomosibi area of Ijebu-Igbo before the suspects forcibly dragged him into a vehicle and took him away.

“They received the ransom, but when the family was expecting the release of their loved ones, this gang refused to set him free despite receiving the ransom,” the source added.

PUNCH Online also learnt that the gang had been using the PoS machine stolen from the late Oworu to conduct their criminal transactions with the victims’ grieving families.

The command’s spokesman, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the arrests during a telephone interview on Saturday. She stated that the suspects had confessed to the crimes and would be duly prosecuted.

During interrogation, Odutola informed our correspondent that the suspects had also confessed to killing both the 71-year-old farmer and Femi, despite having received large ransoms from their families and refusing to release them.

Odutola added, “A thorough investigation led to the hideouts of the criminals and their arrest on June 28, 2024, in Ijebu-Igbo. They confessed that they killed Ogunyemi Femi and Sunday Ifelaja and buried them in a shallow grave in a forest in Ijebu-Igbo. The suspects are currently taking the CP and other police officers to the forest to exhume the deceased victims.

“Efforts are currently being intensified to arrest other fleeing members of the gang.”

PUNCH Online reported on July 3, 2024, that the command announced the killing of two kidnappers during a gunfight. The suspects were reportedly responsible for abducting four travellers along the Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode expressway on Sunday night.

State Police Commissioner Abiodun Alamutu also revealed that the four abducted travellers—one Nigerian and three Indian nationals—had been freed.

Our correspondent reported that 109 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, five AK47 rifles, eight AK magazines, and two cell phones were recovered from the kidnappers.

While praising the state command for the swift operation that led to the release of the victims and the killing of two kidnappers, Governor Dapo Abiodun warned other criminals that the government would use all available resources to drive them out of the state.