The Oyo State Police Command has reported the arrest of approximately 207 suspects involved in various crimes in the year 2023.
The Commissioner of Police, Adebola Hamzat, made this announcement while parading an additional 38 crime suspects engaged in various criminal activities a few days before the new year at the command headquarters in Ibadan, the state capital.
According to Commissioner Hamzat, the arrests included individuals connected to armed robbery, kidnapping, and land-grabbing.
Since January, the police have recovered 50 stolen vehicles, 46 motorcycles/tricycles, 108 firearms, and 721 rounds of various caliber ammunition. The items were seized from the arrested suspects.
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Among the recovered items were six cars, English pump action and revolver rifles, locally made guns, six mobile phones, a power generator, two motorcycles, nine firearms, 60 rounds of ammunition, local charms, and three cutlasses.
The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, who paraded the suspects on behalf of Commissioner Hamzat, noted that the arrests were made at various hideouts.
He shared the CP’s directive for heightened security measures in critical infrastructures, recreational facilities, media houses, banks, correctional centers, public spaces, places of worship, and highways.
The CP also emphasized increased supervision to ensure the professionalism of officers and warned against actions that could bring embarrassment to the Command and the Police Force.
Osifeso highlighted the achievements of the state Police Command in reducing crime rates through intelligence-led operations, community engagements, and proactive policing.
The reported successes included the arrest of 207 armed robbery suspects, recovery of stolen vehicles and motorcycles/tricycles, as well as the retrieval of firearms and ammunition from criminals within the past five months.
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