Lame man who leads bike-snatching gang arrested

Sunday Olojede also known as Oba Aro is a physically-challenged man who will evoke sympathy from anyone who sees him moving about in Ogbomoso, Oyo State. Even his name which when translated to English literally means ‘king of the lame’ is derived from his condition.

But beyond his disability, Crime Reports learnt that 38-year-old Olojede was a terror to motorcycle riders, especially in Ogbomoso town, as he allegedly headed a gang which specialised in snatching bikes from owners after luring them to deserted areas in the guise of being a passenger.
Reports had it that what he used to do was to make his gang members follow him on one or two other
motorcycles in trail of the one conveying him, after which they would attack the owner of the bike they wanted to snatch and make away with it, abandoning the owner.
However, his cup became full in August when his victim proved too much for him, leading to his arrest.
Disclosing the circumstances surrounding the arrest to Crime Reports, the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mr Sam Adegbuyi said that on August 13, a three-man gang of armed robbers attacked one Bolaji Matthew along Ago Are and dispossessed him of his Bajaj motorcycle.
Not done, he said that the same gang also snatched another motorcycle at gunpoint from its owner, Olusayo Alao, at the same area, but the alarm raised by the second victim attracted the Special Anti-Robbery Squad which was on routine patrol at the area.
“The SARS operatives moved swiftly to the scene and succeeded in arresting the suspect and the snatched motorcycle was recovered from him.
“Though other members of the gang escaped from the scene, due to diligent investigation, they were arrested in their various hideouts and they confessed to series of robbery operations they had carried out and the number of motorcycles stolen before they were apprehended,” Adegbuyi stated.Other suspects were Olayiwola Amoo (38), Abiodun Adebayo a.k.a. Omileniyan (25), Isaac Idowu a.k.a. Alausa (37), Abdullahi Adamu (50), and Rabiu Abubakar (30).
He disclosed that the motorcycles stolen before the suspects were apprehended were sold to some criminal receivers who were also arrested, while the exhibits recovered included five unregistered Bajaj Boxer motorcycles snatched at different times, a Bajaj Boxer motorcycle with registration number OYO FMT 688 QC and a Bajaj Boxer motorcycle with registration number OYO YNF 535 QC.
The police commissioner said that the suspects would be arraigned in court after the conclusion of investigations.
In an interview with Olojede, he claimed that it was not long that he joined the bike-snatching gang.
“I have just started with the gang. The first time I went with the gang, I picked one of the gang members on a motorcycle while another member rode as a passenger on a commercial motorcycle. When the rider got to a lonely spot, the passenger who is our gang member forcefully took the key of the bike from him.
“At the same time, we arrived at the scene and the rider who initially wanted to put up a resistance became afraid. He left the bike and ran away. The second time was similar but we were not successful the third time,” he said.One of the victims, Olusayo Alao, also narrated his experience to Crime Reports:
“Olojede stopped me that I should take him to Ayelomo Hotel. I said I didn’t know the place and he tried to describe it. As we were going, I noticed the road he took me through was lonely and there were no houses there.
“Unknown to me, two others were following us on a motorcycle. Suddenly, Sunday slapped me. As I wanted to escape, the bike went off and Sunday pushed me to the ground with the bike. I got up and rained blows on him, at the same time crying for help.
“His two other gang members started beating me and when I struggled with them not to take the bike away, they carried Olojede and put him on their motorcycle. But I dragged him down from the bike. Some people and a patrol team came to where we were and helped in apprehending him.”