3 suspected herdsmen nabbed for robbery in Ekiti

Three suspected Herdsmen were on Friday arrested in Ekiti State for allegedly barricading the highway and robbing commuters of their possession.

Those arrested were: Usman Ibrahim, Ali Salisu and Sidikia Manbagri.

The bandits were alleged to have mounted roadblock along Usho Road in Ise Ekiti, in Ise/Orun Council area of Ekiti State and robbed motorists with guns and other dangerous weapons.

It was reliably gathered from residents of the town that five suspected herders started the highway raid at about 10am, where they terrorized the people and dispossessed them of their monies and other valuables.

Upon sighting the gun-wielding highway robbers, some members of the public had called the police emergency security lines, who rushed to the scene to arrest the men of the underworld.

A source said: “Information reached the police at about 10.15am that five herdsmen mounted roadblock along Usho Road in Ise Ekiti terrorizing the road users with dangerous weapons like daggers and cutlasses.

“A police patrol team swung into action and arrested two of them, Usman Ibrahim and Ali Salisu on the spot while the remaining three fled into the bush.

“Upon combing the bush for the fleeing suspects, another suspect, named Sidikia Manbagri, was arrested. Our men are still in the bush to find the remaining two suspects,” the police source said.

Confirming the arrest, the Commissioner of Police, Ekiti’ command, Mr. Asuquo Amba, said, “Some men suspected to be herdsmen mounted a roadblock. We are still into it to find out why they behaved that way. We will brief the press on further development”.

Also speaking about the incident, the Chairman, Joint Security Committee of Emure, Ise and Ikere council areas, Elder Tunji Falana, applauded the police for their quick intervention which he said saved the situation.

Falana appealed for increase in the number of police personnel in the area, said, “Ise has about 300 farmsteads and over 30 routes. The police need more men and vehicles. Prevention is better than cure. The police here are working under very difficult conditions with an abysmal police to civilian ratio of 1:7500”.

A retired principal in Ekiti State, Mr. Femi Ayeni, was on Thursday murdered by unknown killers in Emure Ekiti, Emure local government area of the state.

The incident occurred at about 10.30 pm at his residence located along Ise road in the community.

A police source told journalists in Ado Ekiti on Friday that the evil doers besieged the house with the aim of robbing the victim, but was killed in the process.

The man was said to have been found in the pool of his blood after being shot by the suspected robbers.

“The retired principal was murdered with a dane gun. The case is under investigation at Emure Divisional Police headquarters.

“The corpse of the decesed had been deposited in the morgue at Emure general hospital”, the source stated.

The source added that the Commander of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Mr. Marcus Ogundola, had led a team of operatives to the scene with a promise that the killers will be arrested.

“There were a lot of traces left behind by the killers that can easily facilitate their arrest. The SARS and other operatives promised that they will work on that and soon, they will get to the root of the matter”, he said.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Sunday Abutu could not be reached, as his mobile phone numbers were switched off.