The Oyo State Police Command has arrested a suspected armed robber and recovered a tricycle allegedly stolen at gunpoint in Ilorin, Kwara State.
This was contained in a statement issued by the command, on its official X handle, on Saturday.
According to the statement, the arrest followed a routine intelligence-led stop-and-search operation by operatives of the Command Monitoring Unit.
The command received credible information from members of the public indicated that a suspected stolen tricycle was being driven along the Oyo–Ogbomoso Road.
Acting on the intelligence, the operatives mounted the operation at the Irepo area, where they intercepted the tricycle, bearing registration number Lagos EPE 236 QR, and arrested the rider, identified as Akindele Seun, 31.
The command said the suspect confessed during interrogation to robbing the tricycle owner at gunpoint in Ilorin before fleeing with the vehicle to Oyo State.
The recovered tricycle has been taken into police custody, while efforts are ongoing to trace its rightful owner and facilitate its return.
The Command added that investigations are continuing to identify and arrest other suspects connected to the crime.
Reacting to the operation, the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, CP Abimbola Ayodeji Olugbenga, reiterated the Command’s commitment to ensuring that the state does not become a safe haven for criminals.
He said individuals who commit crimes within Oyo State, as well as those who attempt to bring the proceeds or instruments of crime into the state, would be identified, arrested, investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law, regardless of where the offence was committed.
The commissioner also assured residents that the Command remains committed to denying criminal elements any operating space in the state and urged members of the public to continue providing timely and credible information to support efforts to protect lives and property.