The Ogun State Police Command said it had arrested another suspected robber terrorising students of Gateway Polytechnic Saapade, Remo North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with PUNCH Metro on Tuesday.
There had been growing concerns over the incessant robbery attacks on the student community in the past three weeks. The attack got to its peak when a student of the polytechnic was shot to death by the robbers in the early hours of Saturday following a raid on the Ode-Remo community hosting the students.
Also, the management of the polytechnic, on Monday, announced the closure of the institution following robbery attacks on the students and directed them to stay away from the school for the next two weeks.
Odutola said the suspect was arrested on Monday following an intelligence operation within the community. The arrest raised the number of arrested suspects to four in the last two weeks.
Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command had on November 28, arrested three persons in connection with the attacks.
She said, “We have been able to arrest another suspect in connection with the robbery attacks on the students of the Gateway Polytechnic, Saapade. This makes it the fourth suspect who was arrested in connection with the robberies. The suspects will be prosecuted soonest.”
She however raised concerns that the arrested suspects were discovered to be indigenes of the communities who took delight in robbing and raping the students.
“It is becoming clearer that the students are victims of some indigenes prying on the students. The suspects are found to be indigenes of the communities who took delight in robbing and raping the female students. The Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, is very much elated that the security summit he held with the head of institutions, host communities, students and traditional rulers, is yielding positive results leading to the arrest of four suspects and recovery of operational weapons.”
PUNCH Metro reported on November 27 that some suspected armed robbers invaded the Ipara-Remo and Ode-Remo communities, hosting some students of the Gateway Polytechnic, Saapade in Remo North Local Government Area of Ogun State, just as some students were shot with female students allegedly sexually molested.
Our correspondent who visited the communities gathered that the suspected robbers stormed the area around 1 am November 19, shooting sporadically and entering into the students’ hostels to cart away their belongings, molest some female students, and also shoot some others, among who was Francis Dwumfour, leaving him in a critical condition.
The students who spoke in separate interviews with our correspondent said the robbery attacks had become recurring in the communities but peaked during the November 19 attack.
In the Saturday morning attack, PUNCH Metro gathered that some armed men invaded the community early in the day and broke into some hostels within the community, shot at some students which led to the alleged death of Segun, while others sustained bullet wounds.
A video of the attack obtained by our correspondent showed the lifeless body of a student with look-alike gunshot injury around his neck and another student with injury in his arms. It was also gathered that burglar-proof of windows were damaged and doors broken by the suspected robbers to gain entrance into the hostels.
