Auto dealer arrested in Ogun for alleged murder

                         

An Abeokuta-based car merchant, Tunde Olatunbosun, has been captured by the Ogun State Police Command for supposedly slaughtering an engine motor boy, Razaq.

The suspect was among 10 suspects that were paraded by the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, at the command’s headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta, on Monday.

The suspects’ crimes ranged from armed robbery, murder to kidnapping and impersonation.

It was accumulated that the killing of Rasak happened on Saturday, April 27, 2017, at Alaja Car Wash in the Leme region of Abeokuta around 9.45am. 

The car merchant was said to have taken an unregistered Toyota Sienna to the auto wash. He was about driving out after the auto had been cleaned, when he saw that a truck was impeding his auto.

Olatunbosun, who allegedly wore a military camouflage knickers, had approached the motor boy inside the truck when an argument ensued.

It was learnt that the motor boy had told him that he was not the driver and that he would inform his master to remove the truck.

Iliyasu said 49-year-old Olatunbosun went back to his car and brought out one Avar Pump Action  gun and shot Razaq at a close range, killing him insantly.

Iliyasu further said after committing the crime, the suspect fled to the Republic of Togo.

The police commissioner said he gave his men and the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad an order to arrest him.

He said in under four hours, the profile of the suspect was revealed "using specialized insight and he was tricked back to Nigeria (Abeokuta), where he was captured. He was captured on Thursday, May 4, 2017." 

 Iliyasu said preliminary investigation revealed “that the suspect is a leader of bandits terrorising Abeokuta and its environs.”

The suspect, who is a father of three, told PUNCH Metro that the victim was dragging the gun with him when the trigger went off.

He said, “I am a car dealer. I usually travelled to Republic of Benin and purchase tokunbo (used) cars for sale in Abeokuta. Many people know me because I had assisted them to buy cars.

“I was trained as a merchant naval officer at the disbanded academy in Iperu Remo. I got the camouflage knickers from the academy.

“I regret killing the boy; it was a mistake. The boy was struggling with me for the gun and in the process, it went off and killed him.”

Iliyasu said other items recovered from the other suspects were 43 live cartridges, two camouflage army trousers, one camouflage army jungle cap and seven pairs of different vehicle number plates.

Also paraded were a fake soldier, Olamilekan Ibrahim, and two others – Sunday Akpabio and Sunny Tijani – who were alleged to have extorted money from residents of the Ogere-Remo area.

Iliyasu said they were arrested on Saturday, May 6.

Two other suspected armed robbers, Yusuf Mustafa and Lekan Lukman, were also paraded.

They denied being equipped criminals, saying they were thieves, who had worked in Mowe, Ibafo, and Abeokuta, among different spots. 

Two other presumed furnished burglars, Friday Ekepe and Friday Okeifi, were paraded. Iliyasu said the speculates worked in grabbing autos, and had grabbed a Toyota Highlander from a lady at Ijebu Ife on Wednesday April 26. 

Iliyasu cautioned that there would be no concealing spot for offenders in the state, including that "the order is certain of freeing the condition of wrongdoing and culpability."