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…employee connives with husband to kidnap the deceased,collect ransom and kill him to clean up any trace of evidence
Ogun state Police Command have apprehended one Larry Adebayo Adewumi and his wife Okereke Olufunmilayo with one Adebowale Sanni over the abduction and killing of a popular businessman and hotelier in the city of Ijebu Ode, Otunba Abayomi Ajayi Smith.
One of the suspects, Olufunmilayo, was a manager in the building materials outlet owned by the Late Otunba Ajayi Smith. She is alleged to have been the person who gave out information leading to the kidnap of her boss to her accomplice and kidnapper husband, Larry Adewumi.
The gang who assassinated Otunba Smith on the 28th of September 2020 at about 7:30 am, at Anifowose Estate igbeba, Ijebu Ode after collecting N15m ransom.
Ogun State Police Command commenced investigation, but all efforts to get the victim out of captivity proved abortive, despite the victim’s family paid a ransom of 15 million naira to the abductors.
Since then, according to statement from the Spokesman of the state police command yesterday morning, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the operatives have not relent in their efforts to fish out those behind the devilish act.
The efforts of the SP Taiwo Opadiran led team was however said to have yielded positive result in September this year, when they got wind of plans by the hoodlums to strike again, as the wife and son of Otunba Ajayi Smith were their target.
The statement revealed that, “having got the intelligence report, the police embarked on technical surveillance for the suspects, consequence upon which one of them was traced to Ikeji Arakeji in Osun state, where the 55 years old Adebowale Sanni was apprehended.
“On interrogation, he confessed to have been on the trail of Yeye Olusola Roseline Ajayi, the wife of their earlier victim, late Otunba Ajayi Smith in order to kidnap her, on the order of Larry Adebayo Adewumi the ring leader, whose wife Olufunmilayo happened to be an employee of Otunba Ajayi Smith.
“He confessed further that it was Larry who described the location of the victim’s hotel and his other business outfits to him with instruction that if they succeeded in kidnapping the woman and her son, the two of them must be killed after collecting ransom in order not to leave any trail behind, just as they did to her husband two years ago.
“His confession led to the arrest of Larry’s wife Olufunmilayo who was a manager at the victim’s building materials shops.
“Larry himself was arrested three days after, he initially denied having anything to do with the kidnap of Otunba Abayomi Ajayi Smith, but when he came into confrontation with Adebowale Sanni, his accomplice, he knew immediately that the game is up”.
Further investigation revealed that Larry who is an indigene of Ilesha, Osun state was a fraudster before he graduated to full-time kidnapping business.
His modus operandi was to scout for a rich victim, after which he will mobilize the gang working for him to go after such person.
He got full information about Otunba Ajayi Smith through his wife, Olufunmilayo who was an employee of the man.
A huge sum of money were found in the bank account of the leader of the suspect, which might be proceeds from his kidnapping business.
In one of the accounts with number 0010913206 domicile in JAIZ Bank, the sum of Thirty four million, nine hundred and fifty three thousand four hundred and fifty five naira (#34,953,455) was discovered there, while he has the sum of four million five hundred and seventy six thousand eight hundred and forty six naira (#4,576,846) in another account with Access Bank.
A 2014 model Toyota Highlander was also recovered from him.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Bankole, who commended his men for painstakingly following the suspects until they were arrested, directed that other members of the gang should be hunted for and brought to book.
He also directed that the arrested suspects be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.