MICHAEL AKINOLA
Five suspected armed robbers and kidnappers have been arrested and charged in Ondo State for alleged robbery, kidnapping and gang-raping two women during operation.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that the defendants, Saliu Usman, Yao Yisa, Abu Ali, Ibrahim Muhammed and Musa Abdukareem, have been ordered by the Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Akure to be remanded in connection with kidnapping, rape of two women and other heinous crimes in the Akoko area of Ondo State, at Olokuta Correctional center.
The defendants were nabbed by the men of the Ondo State Security Network Agency a.k.a Amotekun Corps, and were subsequently arraigned on seven counts bothering on criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, and illegal possession of firearms.
The defendants were alleged to have committed the offences at different times, between July 9 and 13, 2025, at different locations in the Akoko South West Local Government area of the State before they were apprehended.
The prosecution counsel, O.F. Akeredolu, told the court that the defendants and other accomplices at large on July 13, 2025, at about 12:03a.m, at Oba Akoko farm, Ayegunle Axis while armed with offensive weapons, raped two women (names withheld) and dispossessed them of their belongings and money.
The defendants were alleged to have stolen the sum of N225,000.00, two mobile phones, an MP3, and ten litres of palm oil belonging to the victims.
Akeredolu also stated that the defendants were involved in the kidnapping of individuals from the area for ransom.
However, the Court did not take their plea due to the serious nature of the offences as the Prosecution Counsel, Akeredolu, had earlier applied for the remand of the defendants in any correctional facility pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
In response, the defendants’ counsel, G.O. Omoedu, filed a 15-paragraph counter-affidavit seeking bail for his clients, arguing that they were victims of circumstance and that there was no justification for their remand.
The Court having listened to both the defendants and victims, the Presiding Magistrate Damilola Sekoni ordered the remand of the defendant at Olokuta Correctional Facility in Akure pending the outcome of the DPP’s advice.
The Court also noted that the victims had identified three of the defendants as part of the seven-man gang that attacked them, establishing probable cause for their remand.
The Court directed the prosecutor to duplicate the file and send it to the DPP for further advice.
The matter was adjourned till 18th September, 2025 for the report of the DPP’s advice to be available, which will determine if the matter will be transferred to the High Court or not over jurisdiction.