Policeman Shot During Gun Duel With Armed Robbers At Sagamu Interchange, Two Arrested

Two men suspected to be members of an armed robbery gang were on Saturday arrested at Sagamu Interchange along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway after men of the Ogun State Police Command engaged the hoodlums in a gunduel.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Ogun State , Abimbola Oyeyemi, who said this in a statement on Sunday said a police corporal was shot and injured during the gunduel.

The PPRO said the suspects, 30-year-old Solomon Aghofure and 37-year-old Emmanuel Matthew, were arrested when the police patrol team of the Sagamu Division on routine patrol of the road intercepted them around 1.30am.

Oyeyemi said Aghofue, a Delta State indigene, and Matthew from Abia State, and their gang members positioned themselves at the interchange in readiness for attacks on commuters plying the road.

The PPRO said, “The suspects opened fire on the passing patrol team led by the DPO, CSP Okiki Agunbiade. The team engaged them in a shootout at the end of which one of the suspected robbers sustained gunshot injuries and was subsequently apprehended.

“Other members of the gang escaped into the bush and abandoned their operational vehicle. The bush was thoroughly combed from where the other suspect was arrested.

“A police corporal attached to the team also sustained gunshot injuries on his leg and was rushed to hospital for treatment.

“On interrogation, the suspects informed the police that they were five in number and gave the names of others as Uche, aka Two Million; Arinze and Uzor.

“They further revealed that the three escaped members of the gang are ex-convicts, who had served various jail terms in Okitipupa, Ondo State, and Sagamu in Ogun State. It was after their prison terms that they formed the gang and recruited them.

“The CP, therefore, appealed to members of the public, especially hospitals, to quickly inform the police if anyone with gunshot injury is seen in their vicinity.”

The PPRO said the Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, who praised the gallantry of his men, ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the state Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for discreet investigation.

The CP, he said, had also directed that other members of the gang must be arrested and prosecuted.