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DIEHARD ROBBERS: 5 escapees Benin prison inmates rearrested for cross-border car theft

 

Joy Anyim

Five inmates who escaped from the Benin City Correctional Centre during the #EndASRS unrest have been arrested for cross-border car theft.

The suspects, Onaruje Benjamin, Adebayo Opeyemi, Peter Felix Osas, Frank Odion Oloye and Alhaji Hudu Musa, were arrested by operatives of the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) Intelligence Response Team in Kaduna State.

Benjamin, the gang leader, was on death row, before he escaped from the Correctional Centre, alongside other members of the gang.

The Nigerian Xpress reports that sophisticated firearms were recovered from the suspects, who had been notorious for armed robberies and car thefts.

The suspects snatched vehicles at gunpoint from Benin, Edo State and neighbouring states and ferried them to the Niger Republic, where they were offered for sale at giveaway prices.

Parading the suspects at Force Headquarters in Abuja, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Frank Mba, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), said five vehicles were also recovered from the suspects.

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He said: “Investigations revealed the suspects had escaped from the Correctional Centre, formed a new criminal gang and returned to their old criminal enterprise.

“One of the suspects, Onaruje Benjamin, snatched a Toyota Corolla Car in Benin, 30 minutes after he escaped from the Correctional Centre. Five vehicles earlier snatched from their owners at gunpoint in different parts of the country were recovered from the gang.

“While Onaruje Benjamin is the leader of the gang and the arms bearer, Alhaji Hudu Musa is in charge of ferrying and disposing the stolen vehicles to the Niger Republic.

In a related development, Mba said a female suspect, Talatu Ibrahim, aged 40, was also arrested with six AK49 rifles.

The suspect, who hails from Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State, led policemen to Duleji Alhaji Abubakar residing at Ekka village, Koro LGA, Kwara State.

Abubakar had been getting arms supply from Talatu Ibrahim to carry out kidnapping and armed robbery in Kwara State.

The FPRO said the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, has reassured citizens of the renewed commitment of the Force to their safety and security.

He said all the suspects would be arraigned in court on completion of investigations.

 

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