kidnapped Indian: Soldier arrested

Nigerian Police Force

Oyo State Police Command has arrested a soldier, Bada Yusuf in connection with the kidnap of an Indian, Manoj K. Singh-Kumasi last Wednesday.

This came just as the Command killed two armed robbery suspects who allegedly engaged its men in a shoot-out yesterday after a successful robbery operation in Osogbo and escaped to Ibadan.

One of the six- man gang was also arrested with bullet wounds.
Kumasi was kidnapped in Abeokuta and his abductors demanded a ransom of N2million before he could be set free.

The suspect was rounded up on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where he allegedly wanted to pick up the N2million ransom.

He said the suspect claimed he was attached to Nigerian Army 2 Division Workshop Auchi, Edo State.
When parading some suspects yesterday in Ibadan, Mbu said, “the suspect was arrested in full Army camouflage uniform.”

He gave the service number as 11NA/66/10245.
On the robbery case, the Commissioner explained “the police blocked Iwo Road and laid an ambush.
“The robbers on sighting the police blockade started firing sporadically and the police retaliated. In the process, two of the armed robbers were gunned down, others fled to the forest, while one lay helpless.”
Items recovered from them include N91,000 cash, three wrist watches, 14 rounds of .9mm live ammunition, five cartridges, jewelry, two cars marked LSR 596 AE and KRD 332 AS.

15 die in bus,petrol tanker accident

No fewer than 15 persons lost their lives in a multiple auto crash along Ogbomoso-Oyo-Ibadan road on Sunday morning. The accident which specifically occurred at Odo-Oba village few kilometres to Ogbomoso, according to eyewitnesses involved a fully loaded petroleum tanker coming from Oyo/Ibadan end road and an 18-seater commercial bus coming from Ilorin/Ogbomoso.

FRSC administering to one of the victims

 The tanker was said to have collided with the commercial bus at a sharp bend along Odo-Oba village, resulting in the auto crash. The eye-witnesses added that the impact of the collision made the tanker to upturn and spill its inflammable cargo which eventually led to an explosion. The explosion was compounded as another fully loaded tanker had broken down at the same scene for the past one week. The driver of the commercial bus, the eyewitness added, lost control of the vehicle and the passengers were flung out of the vehicle. Only three of the passengers were lucky to escape.

The dead bodies of the victims of the accident were later taken to Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso. As a result of the accident, there was heavy traffic jam along the Ibadan/Ogbomoso/Oyo expressway. Men of the State Fire Service, police, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) had hectic time controlling the traffic.

Officers of the Nigerian Army and the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) were also on hand to join in the rescue operation and ensured that the property of the victims were not stolen by hoodlums. The spokesman of NEMA in the South-West, Alhaji Ibrahim Farinloye described the accident as very unfortunate, adding that the scene had to be cordoned off and traffic diverted to another routes around the area. As at the time of filing this report, men of the FRSC were still struggling at the scene controlling traffic.