A couple, Larry Adebayo Adewumi and Okereke Funmilayo, have been arrested, along with one Adebowale Sanni over the abduction and killing of a popular hotelier, Otunba Abayomi Ajayi Smith.
Otunba Smith, Director of Rolak Hotel, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, was kidnapped on 28 September 2020 at about 7:30 am, at Anifowose Estate, Igbeba, Ijebu Ode by some gunmen.
The couple were arrested, along with their suspected accomplice by men of the Ogun State Police Command for the abduction and killing of the hotelier.
The suspects, who were said to have collected the sum of N15 million as ransom when they kidnapped the hotelier two years earlier, were allegedly planning his wife and son when they were apprehended by the police.
The Ogun Police, in a press release, AZ:5310/OGS/PRO/VOL.7/174.24/11/2022, by its image-maker, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, stated that the suspects were arrested after two years of unrelenting investigation into the incident.
Oyeyemi stated that men of the state Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department were mobilised when the hotelier was kidnapped but could not get the couple and their accomplices arrested then.
“On receiving the information about the kidnap, men of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit were then mobilised to commence investigation.
“But all efforts to get the victim out of captivity proved abortive, despite the fact that the victim’s family paid a ransom of N15 million to the abductors.
“Since then, police operatives have not relent in their efforts to fish out those behind the devilish act,” the Ogun Police image-maker stated.
He added that the efforts of the SP Taiwo Opadiran-led team however yielded positive result last September, when the police got wind of plan by the hoodlums to strike again, the wife and son of the slain hotelier being their target, this time.
Oyeyemi stated: “The team, having got the intelligence report, embarked on technical surveillance for the suspects, consequence upon which one of them was traced to Ikeji Arakeji in Osun State, where the 55-year-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, 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 trait, 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.
“Larry initially denied having anything to do with the kidnap of the hotelier, Otunba Abayomi Ajayi Smith, but when he came into confrontation with Adebowale Sanni, his accomplice, he knew immediately that the game is up.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that Larry, who is an indigine of Ilesa Osun State, used to be a fraudster before he graduated to full-time kidnapping business.
“His modus operandi was to scout for a rich victim, after which he will mobilise 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 hotelier.
“Further investigation revealed that Larry has two bank accounts where he used to keep money realised from his criminal activities.
“In one of the accounts with number 0010913206, domiciled in JAIZ Bank, the sum of N34,953,455 million was discovered therein, while he has the sum of N4,576,846 million in another account with Access Bank. A 2014 model Toyota Highlander was also recovered from him.”
The state Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, has commended his men for painstakingly following the suspects until they were arrested.
He directed that other members of the gang should be hunted for and brought to book, adding that the arrested couple and their accomplice be charged to court, as soon as investigation is concluded.
