The Oyo State Police Command has made a significant breakthrough in its fight against car theft, arresting three suspects and recovering a stolen Hyundai Sonata car in Ibadan, the state capital. The vehicle, with registration number ABC 882 GK, was reportedly stolen from Shangisha, Magodo, Lagos, on 13 September. According to the police, the stolen car was later sighted around the Ojoo area of Ibadan, prompting a report to the Oyo Command on 16 September.
Following the report, the Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, directed the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Squad to trace and recover the vehicle. Using technology and intelligence-driven policing, the squad successfully located the vehicle in the Akinyele Area of Ibadan and recovered it. The police subsequently arrested three suspects identified as Abdulramon Hassan, 49; Abdullahi Sani, 43; and Sulaimon Adamu, 53, in connection with the vehicle theft.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects confessed to involvement in the crime and were cooperating with investigators to uncover the activities of the syndicate and identify other people connected with the theft. The police noted that the suspects' arrest is a significant achievement in the command's efforts to combat vehicle theft in the state.
This latest operation comes less than a month after the Oyo Command arrested two suspected members of a network allegedly involved in trafficking stolen vehicles across Nigeria’s borders for sale abroad. In that previous case, the police recovered a 2017 Lexus RX 350 SUV allegedly stolen at gunpoint from a woman in Ilorin, Kwara State.
The two suspects, Adewale Abiola, 33, and Kabiru Abobarin, 36, were arrested with the recovered Lexus. According to the police, preliminary interrogation showed that the two suspects allegedly received the Lexus from members of the gang that stole it in Ilorin and were transporting it towards the border for sale in another country.
The command had said the suspects' arrests were part of an intelligence-led operation that followed information from another suspect already in police custody over an armed robbery case. The police are currently intensifying efforts to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate.
The Commissioner of Police has directed that the investigation be concluded expeditiously, after which the suspects and any other persons found culpable will be charged to court in accordance with the law. The police are working to ensure that those responsible for the vehicle theft are brought to justice.
Key points
- The Oyo State Police Command has arrested three suspects and recovered a stolen Hyundai Sonata car in Ibadan.
- The suspects, Abdulramon Hassan, Abdullahi Sani, and Sulaimon Adamu, confessed to involvement in the crime and are cooperating with investigators.
- This arrest follows a previous operation where two suspects were arrested for trafficking stolen vehicles across Nigeria’s borders for sale abroad.
