A dreaded criminal gang, in the habit of trailing victims seen with posh vehicles at clubs, malls or popular event centres to their homes or destinations in the bid to rob them in Ibadan, has been dismantled by operatives of Oyo State Police Command with the arrest of two suspected members, Omole Ridwan and Adewumi Adegbile.
The command’s spokesman, CSP Adewale Osifeso, who spoke on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Femi Haruna, made this known on Thursday while briefing journalists on the achievements made in reducing crime in the state.
According to the PPRO, the gang had an armoury of sophisticated weapons, including AK-47 rifle, with breech number 1057, an empty AK-47 magazine, a double-barrel pistol, a fabricated gun, two cutlasses and an axe, which were recovered when police operatives from Anti-Robbery section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Iyaganku, Ibadan, swooped on them.
The female suspect, Adewumi, was said to be the gang leader’s girlfriend whose Point of Sale (POS) machine was allegedly used to transfer money out of the victim’s account. From there, it was said, the money would be transferred to another account belonging to her.
The latest incident, according to CSP Osifeso, occurred to recently when three members of the gang followed their victim and his girlfriend home, entered their apartment and dispossessed them of valuables running into tens of millions.
As if not satisfied, the armed robbers forcefully transferred N4.5 million from the victim’s account to a NOM Microfinance account number belonging to the female suspect, after which they fled the scene on a lady’s motorbike used for the criminal activity.
The PPRO said that the case was transferred from a police division to the State CID where the anti-robbery operatives began a discreet investigation. “In the process, on September 3rd, 2025, at about 1700hrs (5p.m.), a member of the criminal gang who gave his name as Omole Ridwan and Adewumi Adegbile, the female member of the gang whose account was used to siphon money from the victim’s account, were arrested in their respective hideouts,” Osifeso stated.
He said that during interrogation, the two suspects made confessional statements to the police and provided useful information that would facilitate the arrest of fleeing suspects.
During interrogation, Ridwan aged 29, confessed to knowing that the gang leader, Sodiq, currently at large, was involved in crime, but said he had never been part of it. Ridwan disclosed that he, Sodiq and another named gang member, Oyin a.k.a Stone, met in Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos State, as inmates, but it was only Sodiq he connected with after they all regained freedom.
The suspect narrated: “I’m from Ibadan but was born in Lagos where I lived with my parents. In Lagos, members of Aye Confraternity used to disturb me to join them. As I was a member of Eiye Confraternity, I refused, and they were always after me. Two of the Aye cult members were apprehended by the police and they mentioned my name as the owner of the gun found with them. I was charged to court and became a prison inmate in 2018 until I was discharged on the day of judgement in February 2024.
“I joined Eiye cult in 2010 when I was in Primary Five. I was about 14 years old then because I left private school for a government own, and had to start from Primary One. One of my school mates lured me to a party, only for me to discover that it was for cult initiation. That was how I became a cultist. I was given a bird name, Okin.
“I met Sodiq in prison and we became friends. He told me he was an Eiye cult member and was remanded because of that. I also knew Oyin a.k.a Stone in prison but was not close to him. Oyin was released before me, while I was discharged in February 2024. When I went home, my mother told me to move to my father’s house in Ibadan to avoid stigmatisation by neighbours and trouble with others.
“Sodiq used to call me from prison. One day, he told me he was going to court and would likely be discharged. After judgement in court, he called and told me he was free and on his way to Oyo Town to stay with his girlfriend. He stopped in Ibadan to see me before he eventually left for Oyo.
“One day, I called Sodiq and told me that things were not going smoothly with me. In Ibadan, I was doing home service for those who knew I barb, but it was not often, so it did not sustain me. He told me he was with his girlfriend who was into pig farming. Not long after, he came to Ibadan and told me he was going for his sister’s child christening ceremony in Lagos, and I followed him.
“On our way back, I later went to him in Oyo to learn how to rear pigs. I stayed with him for a month before I was called by a family member to have my share of family’s property. As I was leaving Oyo, Sodiq said he would follow me. I saw him with a bag slung across his shoulder and thought it contained his clothes.
“When we got to Ibadan, I stayed in the same room with Sodiq and he put his bag in my wardrobe. I was given N150,000 by the family member I came to meet, and I called Sodiq’s girlfriend and gave her N65,000 as payment for a pig.
“I noticed that Sodiq always wore my shirts so I checked the bag he brought from Oyo to see if he had his own but saw guns in it. I didn’t say anything because I knew him in prison and he was a cultist.”
Ridwan said that his older cousin brought the AK-47 rifle, which was recovered by the police from his wardrobe, among the items, to him for keepsake. He said that the cousin told him that he was making moves to become a forest guard. He, however, admitted that he was supposed to have reported to the police.
The suspect further confessed that Sodiq used to go out but always returned before midnight. “I knew he was involved in armed robbery, but I did not follow him. He never gave me anything from the crime proceeds but usually bought food for us to eat. I made a mistake of keeping mute over Sodiq’s criminal act,” Ridwan said.
He stated further that he joined Sodiq to run away when the police came to his family house to arrest them on Wednesday, September 3, but he was apprehended while Sodiq escaped. He added that the weapons in his room were discovered by the police during a search.
The Awe-born female suspect, Adewumi, who will be 43 years old in October, explained how she got involved with Sodiq, the gang leader. She said: “I met Sodiq on TikTok in September 2022. We used to chat. He opened up to me that he was chatting with me from Kirikiri Prison in Lagos. He said he was arrested for cultism. I told him that I could still give him a chance if he promised to change.
“I started visiting him in prison and would give him whatever I had. I didn’t mind that I was older than him. I was even going to court on days his case was heard. Though I’m a Christian, he is a Muslim and I saw him dedicated to prayers in the prison. So, I believed he had changed.
“I left hairdressing and started selling cooked noodles with chicken. I also engaged in Point of Sale (POS) business in 2024.
“When Sodiq was released from prison on February 22 this year, he came to my place to stay. He observed Ramadan and was always with me, helping me to prepare noodles for customers. He was also handling my POS business.
“At a time, he said he was going to Lagos for his sister’s child christening ceremony. From there, he told he would go to his family in Ibadan. I thought of knowing his family and went to Ibadan to see him without telling him. It was there I met Ridwan whom he called his family member. Later, I knew they were friends.
“I didn’t know he was engaged in armed robbery on his return from prison. Another one of his friend, Oyin a.k.a Stone, whom I learnt was his gang member, used to send money through my POS machine, and it was Sodiq helped him to operate it. Oyin would send money into one of my accounts and transfer it from there to another account belonging to me. I saw one of the cash transferred into my account. It was N4.5 million. I was given N500,000 as charges, and it was transferred to my other account. I had so much trusted him. I didn’t suspect him of anything. I even helped him to pack his bag when he was travelling to Ibadan. It was when I got to the police station that I learnt Oyin, Sodiq and Ridwan met in the prison. I just saw the guns that were said to belong to Sodiq when the police took me to Ridwan’s house to arrest him.”
The victim (name withheld), who narrated his experience to Sunday Tribune, said: “Recently, I went watch a movie at a popular event centre in Ibadan. On my way home, I picked my girlfriend, and at the entrance gate, I told my younger brother to open it for me. As I entered the compound, I looked at my side mirror and saw a stranger entering with a gun. My two younger brothers ran away immediately. When I tried to open the door, he shot at me. As I saw that I was not hit, I still made an attempt to run inside, but he caught up to me. We were dragging with each other until he put his body was halfway through the door, so I couldn’t shut it. Then, I had to surrender.
“He collected my original Rolex wrist watch of N22 million, my gold chain which value is N11.6 million and earrings of N200,000. He also withdrew N4.5 million from my account. I later heard the sound of a motorcycle zooming off, and one of our neighbours saw that it was a lady’s bike. The neighbours heard the gunshot but couldn’t come out of fear.”
(Tribune)