Twenty-eight-year-old student of Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu Ode, arrested by the Ogun State Police Command in his room where assorted firearms were found, has claimed innocence of the crime, saying that he also stumbled on them and discovered that they belong to one Qudus who was living in the house with him.
He said he did not know that Qudus, currently at large, had one of the keys to the room in which he was staying with a friend, admitting that he made the mistake of not informing law enforcement agents when he stumbled on the arms on his return from his family home in January.
Ibrahim was one of the suspects recently paraded by the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu. He was alleged to be an armourer for cultists in Aiye Confraternity. He and other cult members were alleged to have been responsible for the serial attacks on students and innocent members of the public within and around Ijebu Ode axis.
On what led to the suspect’s arrest, CP Alamutu said that on January 27, at about 2:35 a.m., an intelligence report was received that Ibrahim a.k.a Butcher, of Imaweje Community, was keeping guns for Aiye Confraternity cult group.
“An acclaimed extra-year student of the department of Library and Information Science 2023/24 academic session of the said TASUED, he happens to be the armourer for the said supreme Aiye Confraternity. The subject and his gang have been responsible for the serial attacks on students and innocent members of the public within and around Ijebu Ode axis. He was trailed to his criminal hideout where firearms were recovered from his room,” the police commissioner disclosed.
He listed the exhibits recovered to include a serviceable Browning pistol loaded with four rounds of live ammunition and its magazine, a pump action rifle with 10 rounds of live cartridges, an English short double-barrel rifle, two locally-made short single barrel rifles, a locally-made revolver pistol loaded with two rounds of live ammunition and assorted charms.
CP Alamutu said that investigation was ongoing to arrest other suspects.
However, Ibrahim insisted that he didn’t know anything about the guns but found them in the room he was staying with his friend, Caleb, who was not even around when he discovered them. He said that they belong to a housemate who is on the run.
He told his story thus: “I’m from Ikereku in Abeokuta. My parents are in Lagos and I was born there. I’m a student of Library and Information Science in TASUED. I was supposed to have graduated in 2021 but I had carryover and got an extra year.
“I started living in the house when I was in my first year in the university. Caleb later joined me and was the one paying the rent when I had finished.
“I came back for the extra year in 2022/2023 and took permission to squat with him. On December 24, last year, Caleb and I travelled to our different family homes. We left Qudus behind. He was occupying one of the rooms in the house and was engaged in cobbling.
“When I was called and congratulated that I passed my exams, I came to school to do final clearance on January 14 this year. As I opened the door, I saw two bags and opened them. I was shocked when I saw that they contained guns. I remembered that Qudus was left in the house.
“I went to look for him and confronted him about what I saw. He admitted that the bags with the guns belonged to him and that he would come and pick them. I didn’t remember to tell Caleb.”
On why he did not inform the police about what he saw, the suspect said that it was a mistake by him.
