Oyo State Police Command arrest armed robber on his wedding day at Ibadan registry

MEN of the Oyo State Police Command recently ruined the wedding of notorious armed robber Olumide Asiyanbi when they arrested him just as he was about to tie the knot at an elaborate service in Ibadan.

 

Mr Asiyanbi, 42, is believed to have participated in more than 10 different armed robbery operations in Oyo State but has so far been lucky to have avoided arrest during the course of his operations. Yesterday though he was arrested while he was at the registry in Ibadan just as he was about to sign the marriage certificate with his unsuspecting bride.

 

In response to his daring operations, the Oyo State Police Command decided to step up its intelligence-gathering capability under an ambitious programme introduced by led by the commissioner of police Muhammed Katsina. This enabled them to figure out that Mr Asiyanbi was a member of a six-man-robbery gang that terrorised residents of the Challenge area of Ibadan.

 

Mr Katsina said: "He was about to wed before we caught him. We laid ambush for them for more than seven days.

 

"When they decided to strike, it would have been one of the deadliest as they had wanted to attack one of the first generation banks but as they came in, we picked them one after the other. We will soon charge them to court."

 

According to Mr Katsina, the police recovered a pistol from the robbers which they believe might belong to a law enforcement agent. He added that after his arrest, Mr Asiyanbi confessed that he had been involved in 10 different robbery attacks.

 

M Asiyanbi said:  “I am 42 year-old and I hail from Ile-Ife in Osun State. I was arrested on my wedding day at the registry as we went to rob and we were caught along the Challenge area. 

 

"I met the gang leader, James Agba, last year, who told me that he knew how we could be getting regular money. He then initiated me into the gang and I have taken part in at least 10 operations since I joined them."

 

Gang leader James Agba, 35, an Urhobo man from Delta State, added: "We got the guns in Abuja from my secondary school friend, Joel. When I robbed four times, I was given a laptop and a phone."

 

Also arrested with the robbery suspects was a 63-year-old Ghanaian, James Matthew, who abandoned his security job and joined the gang. Items recovered from them include LCD television sets, laptops among other items according to Mr Katsina.