Three arrested over attempt to kill police traffic officer, driver in Ogun

Men of the Ogun State police command have on Saturday arrested three men for allegedly making an attempt to kill a police sergeant, Sunday Akinpelu.

Akinpelu was attacked while carrying out his duty at Orile Imo area of Obafemi Owode Local Government, Ogun State.

The suspects, Olayiwola Basiru, Bamimore Isiaka and Soliu were said to have been arrested when they attacked Sgt Akinpelu and attempted to burn police tow truck so as to prevent investigation into the cause of the accident.

Following the report of an accident at Orile Imo, the Sergeant, who was attached to the traffic section of the Owode Egba division was detailed to rescue the victims and recover the vehicles involved to the station.

“But on getting to the scene, the arrested suspects had descended on the police officer and the tow truck driver with a sledge hammer, sticks and other dangerous weapons,” Abimbola Oyeyemi, Ogun State police spokesman, said on Monday.

Oyeyemi said this was done in order to prevent them from moving one of the vehicles involved in the road crash to the station.

According to Oyeyemi, the policeman and the tow vehicle driver had managed to escape to the station “with varying degrees of injuries.”

When the Divisional Police Officer of Owode Egba division, CSP Olasunkanmi Popoola, was briefed about the attack, he had led his men to the scene “where he met the suspects who had already poured petrol on the towing vehicle and about setting it ablaze, after removing a cash sum of N520,000, belonging to the tow vehicle’s driver.”

While three among the hoodlums were arrested, others were said to have escaped, even as the DPO recovered the remaining petrol from them.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, was said to have ordered that the fleeing suspects be hunted for and brought to book.

He further directed that the arrested suspects be transferred to the State CIID for further investigation and possible prosecution.