- Some men have been arrested for robbing a fuel-laden truck in Ibadan, Oyo state
- One of the men arrested is a 28-year-old serving soldier
Corporal Akpan Edet, a 28-year-old serving soldier with the 81 Batallion of the Nigerian Army, Mokola, Ibadan, and four other men have been arrested by the police for allegedly hijacking a fuel-laden truck at a spot along Akobo-Iwo road, Ibadan.
Others arrested are Onyeka Joshua,34, Onhonwen Raphael, 32, Ugo Monday, 31, as well as Ifeanyi Emmanuel, The Sun reports.
While parading them along with fifteen other suspects on Friday, December 29, the Oyo state commissioner of police, Mr. Abiodun Odude said the men were arrested on November 17.
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Odude said: “The gang led by the soldier,who was clad in full military camouflage, on November 17, 2017 at 2130 hours (9:30p.m), hijacked a 40,000 litre truck with Registration Number ABUJA ABC 132 XA and abducted the driver and his motor boy to Omi-Adio area after robbing them of their money and other valuables.
“The truck was thereafter driven to Akure-Ilesa Road by some of the gang members. The alarm raised by the victims attracted some members of the community, who in collaboration with the police arrested them.
“The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the command swung into action immediately, and further investigation carried out by the SARS yielded fruitful results as three other members of the gang were arrested in their various criminal hideouts in Ibadan and the truck eventually recovered.”
The soldier allegedly confessed to the crime, saying he had participated in two operations, but the first one was abortive, while the second operation was successful before their arrest.
Another member of the gang, Onyeka Joshua, attested to the fact that the gang used the soldier to stop the truck. He claimed that they asked the driver for the waybill of the truck but driver could not produce the document, adding that they discovered that the petrol in the truck was a product of pipeline vandalism.
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the general manager, crude oil marketing of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mele Kyari, has linked the persisting fuel scarcity to people's fear in buying the commodity which stems from a perceived increment in its price.
Kyari disclosed that there was no hitch in NNPC's end of the supply, since the organisation has played its role in ensuring that petroleum products were in steady supply.
Price of petrol crashes in Nigeria on NAIJ.com TV
Source: Naija.ng