By Michael Ofulue
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A middle aged man, identified as Mapayi Taye who was alleged to have been parading himself as a lawyer during which he reportedly aided two armed robbery suspects to escape from the custody of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) office in Akure, the state capital has been arrested by the police.
The fake lawyer was yesterday paraded alongside with other suspects alleged to have been involved in cases of armed robbery and kidnapping in Akure and Owo areas of the state respectively.
Parading the suspects before newsmen at the police headquarters along Igbatoro road in Akure, the Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Femi Joseph, a Superintendent of Police (SP)told reporters that the fake legal practitioner aided two suspects whose names he gave as Rotimi Adeleye, and Bukola Adeoye who reportedly escaped from the custody of SARS in Akure on July 2 this year.
He said out of the two suspects that the fake lawyer aided to escape, one of them identified as Bukola Adeoye A.k.A Agbara was reportedly shot dead during a gun battle between him and operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Ore in Odigbo local government area of the state during a robbery incident that took place on July 17 2018.
He explained that the impostor confessed to the police during interrogation that he was the one who assisted the suspects to remove their handcuffs during which they allegedly escaped to an unknown destination before nemesis caught up with him after an intensive investigation by the SARS operatives.
The police spokesman hinted that the deceased’s girlfriend identified as Loveth Ogbu assisted the police with useful and relevant information that helped the police to nab the fake lawyer whom he said has been duping unsuspecting innocent victims while pretending to be a genuine lawyer even though he did not attend any school.
Joseph also told newsmen that one of the suspects that attempted to kidnap a Pharmacist in Owo was nabbed after he and two others now at large had unlawfully invaded the Pharmacy shop in Owo area of the state and attempted to kidnap the owner of the pharmacy at gun point
He said when the hoodlums entered the pharmacy, unknown to them that the owner of the pharmacy had sighted them and subsequently escaped through the back door, they met a man whose name he gave as Daodu Wale who came to buy a drug from the pharmacy and one of the robbers collected his Boxer motorcycle and attempted to escape with it, but stumbled and fell and was overpowered by concern citizens and was arrested. A cut to size locally made barrel gun was recovered from the suspect.
The PPRO further disclosed that one of the arrested suspected kidnappers whose name is yet to be ascertained as at press time was still in a deep sleep as at time he was being paraded with other suspects probably being under the influence of Tramadol 400 miligramme which the police recovered from his pocket.
He said whenever the suspect wakes up from his sleep, he will assist the police with useful information that would help arrest other members of his gang who are still at large.
According to the police image maker, one Ebele Victor of No 22, Nugba Street in Akure who was arrested for unlawfully entering into the house of one of his victims names withheld at the back of Jojein Hotel, along Oba-Ile road confessed to have taken 600miligrams of Tramadol before nemesis caught up with him.
All the suspects according to the PPRO would soon appear in court as soon as the police conclude their investigations just as he appealed to the general public to assist the police with useful information that would help reduce crime to the barest minimum in the state.
