The Oyo State Police Command has presented several suspects who were arrested in connection with three different criminal cases, among them the alleged killing of a family of six at Oloba Village in Lagelu Local Government Area of the state.
According to the command, the suspects are said to have attacked the family over a damaged mobile phone that belonged to one of them.
The remaining cases involved an alleged armed robbery at Wofun Olodo, Ibadan, in which a 44-year-old woman, Mrs. Wahab Rukayat, was reportedly killed, along with the arrest of a suspected unqualified medical practitioner accused of impersonating a doctor.
The suspects were paraded at the Police Command Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, where the command gave details of the separate investigations and displayed some of the items allegedly recovered.
In the Lagelu case, police named the three suspects arrested over the alleged murder as Hammed Akinbami, Ojo Akinbami, and Padonu Edward.
According to the command, the suspects allegedly stormed the residence of Ifeanyi Chukwu, his wife, and their four children at Oloba Village, armed with a locally made Dane gun, two cutlasses, and a wooden club.
Police said the suspects allegedly attacked the family in retaliation for damage to a mobile phone belonging to one of them.
The command alleged that the suspects robbed the family of N200,000, a motorcycle, a Doma machine with chainsaw, and a spraying machine before using a wooden club to kill four members of the family.
It further alleged that the two children who survived the initial attack were taken to the Osun River, where their hands and legs were tied before they were thrown into the river.
The police said the remains of the woman had been recovered from the river, while efforts were ongoing to recover the remains of the other members of the family.
The command said the suspects were being investigated to establish their individual roles in the alleged attack and the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
In a separate case, police paraded three suspected members of an armed robbery gang identified as Oluwatobi Akinrinola, Mathew Okunola, and Ibrahim Rabiu.
The suspects were arrested over an alleged robbery operation at Wofun Olodo, Ibadan, during which 44-year-old Rukayat was reportedly killed.
The command said the suspects allegedly attacked their victims and stole mobile phones, wristwatches, $400, and other valuables estimated at N3.493 million.
Police said an iPhone 7 Plus belonging to one of the victims was recovered from the suspects, while surviving victims reportedly identified them during an identification parade.
Some of the victims who were invited to the command headquarters to identify the suspects alleged that they were subjected to severe torture during the attacks and that property worth millions of naira was stolen.
The police said the investigation was ongoing to determine the extent of the suspects’ alleged involvement in the robbery and killing, as well as establish whether other members of the gang were still at large.
In the third case, the command paraded Benjamin Adeniyi, described as an auxiliary nurse, for allegedly practicing medicine as a doctor without the requisite qualifications and professional training.
During an interview, Adeniyi reportedly admitted to the police that he had been practicing as a medical doctor since 2022 despite lacking the required qualifications.
Police also accused him of running two hospitals named LIFE IS GOOD, with locations in the Olodo and Academy areas of Ibadan, where he is said to have offered medical services, including fertility treatment.
According to the command, the investigation was intended to establish how far his activities went and to identify patients who might have been put at risk by the alleged illegal practice.
Responding to the cases, the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, stated that investigations into the three incidents were still in progress.
Ayanlade said the command was stepping up efforts to uncover the full circumstances of the incidents and to arrest other individuals who may have been linked to the alleged crimes.
He further stated that the police would press on with the investigations and make sure that anyone found guilty was brought to justice.
