Operatives of Ondo State Police Command have arrested a 47-year-old man, Godson James, for allegedly killing an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) at a checkpoint in Ifon axis of Ose Local Council of the state.
The suspect was arrested on July 22 by military personnel in the Sobe area of Edo State, while trying to escape from Ondo State, and handed over to the police.
The Guardian gathered that James hit the deceased policeman, Emmanuel Oyewole, with his Ford Edge SUV, while attempting to escape from the state after swindling a 48-year-old Point of Sales (PoS) operator of N4.4 million in Akure, the state capital.
Parading the suspect at the police headquarters, the Ondo State Commissioner of Police (CP), Taiwo Jesubiyi, said the suspect, upon discovering that the police had mounted a roadblock, intentionally ran over the deceased ASP to evade arrest.
He said: “Oshodi Mubowale reported at the Police Scorpion Office in Akure that on July 21, 2023, an unknown man with an unregistered Ford Jeep came to her shop at Omolere Shopping Complex, Adesida Market, Akure, through one Thomas Toyin, 48, and Omonigba Kehinde, 47, both traders in the same complex.
“The said man requested a cash sum of N6 million, but was only able to get N4.4 million from her, and promised to send the money back through bank transfer, but failed to do so.
“However, the complainant later traced him to the DeJavu Hotel in Alagbaka, along with some of her relatives, after she realised that the man was not ready to transfer her money. However, the suspect escaped from the hotel with his car, while effort to trail him failed.
“The police officers and military men at the checkpoints within the axis he took were alerted. In the process of trying to evade arrest, the suspect intentionally ran over an Assistant Superintendent of Police attached to Ifon Division, Emmanuel Oyewole, at Police Pin Down, Ori Ohin, with his vehicle. The officer was confirmed dead at a nearby hospital.
“Officers of the 4th Brigade Headquarters in Sobe, Edo State, later arrested him. The suspect, Goodson Tender James, 47, was handed over to the police, with the sum of N1.515 million by the military,” the commissioner said.
On her part, Oshodi said after receiving the money, the suspect made a fake transfer, and bolted away from the terminal with his vehicle.
However, the suspect claimed that his friend sent the fake alert, and had to hurriedly leave the state after realising that his life was in danger.
“On my way, I saw some people in police uniforms, with one of them bending over on the road. When I tried to manoeuver, a gunshot hit my car from the front. Believing that the police could not just shoot at me, I thought they were robbers and managed to come out at another location. That was when I hit one of them. I was trying to save my life when I hit the person.
“When I packed, I saw that my radiator was affected by gunshots. Some trailer drivers told me kidnappers were coming, and I drove off. The military uniform they claimed to have seen in my car was just a seat jacket.
“I would have reported at a police station in Akure before leaving, but I don’t know anywhere in the town. I was able to locate the hotel I lodged in with the help of Google Maps,” the suspect alleged.
Credit: The Gurdian
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