An armed robbery suspect, Jimoh Yekini, on Tuesday in Ibadan, Oyo State, said he “mistakenly” stoned his friend’s father to death.
Yekini, 36, also known as Ejo (snake), told journalists while being paraded with other armed robbery suspects at the state police command that his usual weapon of attack was a stone.
The victim, Kamoru Lamidi, was said to have died after a stone Yekini threw at his son, Sumaila, hit him.
Lamidi told our correspondent, “They call me Ejo (snake) because I am a stubborn being. I was only fighting with Sumaila and stoned him. The stone mistakenly hit his father on the head.
“I threw a second stone, which also it also hit him in the head, but I did not know it was not Sumaila.”
But the police insisted he killed Lamidi when he went to rob the victim’s house.
Yekini was said to have been on the run since the incident.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tambari Mohammed, said Yekini was on the command’s wanted list for violent robberies he had carried out.
The CP said, “He ran out of luck on August 12, 2012, after the Special Anti-Robbery Squad office got a report that he was sighted at Agbeni area of the metropolis while robbing houses.
“SARS operatives quickly swung into action and stormed the scene where he was arrested after a long struggle with the help of the community.
“He was the mastermind of the communal clash that occurred in December 2011 at Agbokojo /Foko area in which several people were killed while many houses and worship centres were razed. Assorted weapons like AK-47 were used freely at the time.”
The police said he was wanted in connection with many other robberies.
The suspect was paraded alongside 10 other suspects accused of sundry criminal offences including armed robbery and car theft.
Meanwhile, one policeman and an armed robbery suspect were killed during a shoot-out in the Apapa area of Lagos on Tuesday.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the robbery suspects, who were four in number, were operating near Union Bank located on Wharf Road when policemen attached to Apapa Division confronted them.
The policemen engaged the robbers in a gun duel but a policeman, Taye Ajetunmobi, was killed in the process while another one sustained injury.
A reliable source at the police station said two of the suspects were arrested while another was killed.
The incident reportedly caused pandemonium as motorists and pedestrians scampered to safety.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, said the robbers had been terrorising residents for quite sometime.
She however said only one suspect was arrested, one killed, while two others escaped with gunshot wounds.
She said, “The four armed robbers have been terrorising residents for sometime. On Tuesday, policemen received information that they were about to operate. So, they laid ambush.
“The robbers came on two motorcycles and when they saw policemen, they immediately opened fire. One armed robber was killed while a policeman was also killed. One of the armed robbers was arrested and arms were recovered from him.”
Source: Punch