Officer In Charge Of Armoury Was Asleep When Offa Robbers Stormed Our Station – Policeman

Sulaimon Mahmoud, a sergeant, has told a court in Kwara State that the officer in charge of the armoury at Offa Police Station was asleep when armed robbers attacked them on April 5, 2018.

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He said their inability to gain access to the armoury made it impossible to stop the robbery attack.

Mahmoud had been the station when the robbers, who also robbed five banks, struck.

Answering questions from the defence counsel during cross examination, Mahmoud, who is the sixth prosecution witness, said when he heard gunshots from the robbers, he also fired some shots in the air before he ran into the station office as his own gun got hooked and could no longer function.

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“When I noticed that the robbers were advancing towards the police station, I ran into the station office first, but the armoury officer, Inspector Oke Kayode, was ill and on medication and was sleeping in his office when the robbers struck.

“He was the officer in charge of the armoury; he was killed right inside his office, while sleeping because he was on medication at the time the armed robbers invaded the police station,” he said.

The guard, who said he lost his AK-47 rifle during the robbery, added that the gun dropped while he was scaling the fence of the station to escape the superior fire power of the robbers.

He said he could not shoot directly at the robbers because he did not want to kill innocent people, adding, “When the robbers started shooting, people were rushing towards the police station.

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“So, I started shooting in the air. I didn’t want to shoot the robbers so that I would not kill innocent people.”

The five accused persons, Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salahudeen Azeez and Niyi Ogundiran, were present in court on Tuesday.

Justice Halima Saleeman of the Kwara State High Court ordered the Federal Correctional Centre, Ilorin, to ensure Akinnibosun gets medical attention.

The defence counsel, Mathias Emeribe, had told the court that Akinnibosun was having severe pain on his wrist, ankle and right lap.

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The counsel added that Akinnibosun “had swelling on his right lap close to his scrotum. The pain has been constant, repeated and severe. He needs a thorough medical examination.”

The case was adjourned till December 21 and 22, 2020.