18-year-old suspect who stabbed Okada Riders arrested in Osun while ‘fasting and praying for forgiveness’

VOICE AIR MEDIA News Update

Osun State Police Command has arrested an 18-year-old suspected robber, Ayomide, for attempted murder of a commercial motorcyclist.

Speaking with Saturday Tribune, the suspect who stabbed the victim in the neck in order to steal his motorcycle, disclosed that he had begun a seven-day fasting and prayer to seek God’s forgiveness when he was arrested.

Briefing newsmen at the weekend, spokesperson of the command, SP Yemisi Opalola, said the injured motorcyclist reported at Iree police station that Ayomide flagged him down at Eyinade area and asked to be taken to Rainbow area in Iree.

The Okada rider told the police that while he was on the way, the passenger suddenly stabbed him deeply with a screwdriver on the neck and made efforts to dispossess him of the Bajaj motorcycle.

He added that as he was bleeding, he struggled with the suspect and raised an alarm which caught the attention of an oncoming motorcyclist. This, he said, made the suspect flee to avoid being caught.

The victim said that he was taken to the hospital for prompt medical attention by his rescuer who also assured him that the attacker would not go scot free.

“Immediately the case was transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, the detectives applied available investigation mechanisms, and on May 18, the suspect was arrested,” SP Opalola stated.

“In the course of interrogation, Ayomide confessed to have committed the crime in connivance with one Olusegun Dayo and Ibrahim Ayinde who are still at large,” the PPRO added.

The suspect said that he was in trouble, prompting him to seek a safe haven with his maternal grandmother.

“I have parents but they are separated. I was not staying with either of them, I was sleeping on the streets or wherever I could lay my head on,” he said.

“I’m a commercial motorcyclist but the bike didn’t belong to me. I was usually hired as a rider by the owners to whom I would deliver the proceeds while I would get my own pay.

“I started thinking of how to get my personal bike. The day I attempted it, I had taken alcohol. It is true I stabbed the rider on the neck with a screwdriver. I stopped him to board his bike. When I saw no one on the road, I stabbed him on the neck. After my attempt failed as I saw another bike rider coming, I ran away.

“I went to a mountain where prayers are held to meet my grandmother. I used to sleep in her house sometimes, so I was used to her. I confessed to her what I did and she took me to a prayer mountain in Eripa. I was asked to fast for seven days, but on the fourth day, I left the mountain top and got arrested.”

He said that he was a stubborn child and was not staying with his mother who remained single after separation from his father. He disclosed that his mother has six children, with him as the last born.

“My father has no thought for us because he has other wives and children. I regret my action,” the suspect told Saturday Tribune.

The PPRO said that efforts were being made to arrest other gang members at large, adding that the arrested suspect would be charged to court after the completion of investigation.