Adebola Hazmat, the State Commissioner of Police, announced during a press briefing at the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, the arrest of five suspects in connection with the murder of Mrs. Olaitan Gbenle, a retired permanent secretary in the state civil service.
Mrs. Gbenle was strangled to death by the suspects during a robbery in which they also stole valuable possessions from her. The leader of the gang confessed to the crime, revealing that he killed her out of fear that she would report him to the police, as she recognized him as her neighbor in Akpata area of Ibadan. He further admitted to his involvement in multiple robbery operations.
The gang sold two of Mrs. Gbenle’s vehicles, a Toyota Camry and Toyota Corolla, for N4 million, receiving only N2 million before their arrest by the police. The leader disclosed that his share of the money was N200,000.
Upon the suspects’ arrest, various items were recovered from them, including 18 cars, a DAF trailer, 2,137 cartons of Maggi valued at N18 million, an electricity generating set, four live cartridges, 64 mobile phones, a master key, and a cash sum of N820,000.
Police reports indicate that the suspects voluntarily confessed to the crime.
