Oyo Police Arrest 3 Suspects Over Stolen Taxi, Say Mastermind Still at Large

The Oyo State Police Command has arrested three suspects in connection with the theft and illegal sale of a commercial taxi after a passenger allegedly lured the driver, stole the vehicle, and tried to conceal it by repainting and dismantling it.

Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, CSP Olayinka Alayande, paraded the suspects Thursday at the state command headquarters in Ibadan. 

He said the alleged mastermind remains at large and efforts are ongoing to arrest him.

Alayande said the victim, commercial taxi driver Reuben Adebayo, first conveyed the principal suspect as a passenger. The suspect later arranged another trip, claiming he needed help buying an engine for his faulty vehicle.

“The suspect claimed he wanted to buy an engine for his vehicle. On getting to the location, he said he had seen something and asked the driver to take a motorcycle to buy a shaft while he went elsewhere,” Alayande said.

Before sending the driver away, the suspect collected his phone under the guise of contacting a supplier, deleted his own number, and stayed behind with the taxi. 

“When the driver returned, he did not meet the suspect. He went back to where he had parked the vehicle only to discover it had disappeared. The matter was reported at Agodi Police Division, and our officers immediately swung into action,” Alayande said.

The PPRO noted that detectives used the command’s technological capabilities to recover the deleted number and trace the vehicle. 

“The interesting aspect of this case is that the criminals had repainted the vehicle from its original colour, carried out body work, removed the engine and gearbox, believing the police would never trace it,” he said.

He warned that the command, under Commissioner of Police CP Olugbenga Ambimbola, would continue to use intelligence-led and technology-driven policing. 

“Anyone who comes to Oyo State to commit crime will be apprehended. We will not allow criminality to thrive in the state,” Alayande said.

One of the suspects, Mutiu Olatunji, said he bought the vehicle for N1 million without knowing it was stolen. He said the fugitive suspect, with whom he works in the automobile business, promised to produce the documents after payment.

Another suspect, Kayode Afolabi, 49, also denied involvement in the theft. He said he bought the vehicle for N700,000 plus a N40,000 agent’s fee after being told the documents were with the Vehicle Inspection Office, VIO.

The third suspect, Femi Ojo, 50, from Ondo State, admitted he was recruited to distract the driver. He said he was promised N100,000 and received N50,000 upfront. 

“I was the one who called the driver and told him I wanted to buy an engine for my car that had broken down around General Gas, although it was all a lie,” Ojo said. “When we got to Gate, I asked him to return to General Gas to get me my shaft. Immediately he left, my accomplice came and drove away the taxi.”

He said he later got a buyer who purchased the vehicle for N700,000 and the mastermind paid him the remaining N50,000 before disappearing.

While recounting the ordeal, Adebayo said the suspect first boarded his vehicle at a motor park around 5 p.m. and insisted on occupying the front seat alone. The next day, the suspect asked for help moving an engine near Gate. 

“On our way back, he asked me to help him buy a shaft using a motorcycle while he went to get tyres. When I returned, I could not find him. My vehicle had disappeared. That was when I realised everything had been carefully planned,” he said.

Police said investigations are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing mastermind. The command urged residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities.