Robbers on the rampage in Oyo community

Despite the heavy presence of police personnel along Awe/Iwo road in Oyo State, an increase in crime and criminal activities has become a source of concern to the residents.
For some time now, Awe community in Afijio local government area has been under the siege of armed robbers.
The community is vulnerable to criminality, as it has many routes
linking to communities, towns and adjoining villages.
There is also a federal highway linking the community with Iwo town in Osun State.
These include Kosobo, Akunlemu, Ife-Odan, Akinmorin, Ajagba, Awusan and Oniwasu, among others.
However, the influx of able-bodied youths into the community, who were said to be students of nearby tertiary institutions worsened the situation.
For some time now, restless residents have been lamenting about the activities of these youths which they referred as ‘undesirables’.
According to them, “some of these youths were noted for notoriety, as they raped, looted, extorted and smoked Indian hemps”.
Scores of people, especially those who ride commercial motorcycles at night from neighbouring towns to the community, have fallen to the robbers’ bullets, and large sums of money carted away from them.
Movement at night is like embarking on a journey in the valley of death.
Many residents were also reported to have fled the community and
relocated to Oyo and other towns to avoid these criminals.
The latest in the orgies of rampage was the four-man robbery gang who stormed the town in two motorcycles and started shooting sporadically into the air before they proceeded to a petrol filling station near a secondary school.
They met the owner of the filling station who has just returned from a journey and N400,000 from him.
After the operation, the robbers left.
But the victim summoned courage, entered his vehicle and pursued the men of the underworld.
On reaching the Adeshakin layout area, the petrol dealer hit his vehicle with one of the two motorcycles used by the robbers. While two of the robbers fell on the ground with their motorcycle, the other robbers escaped.
The petrol dealer was said to have contacted on phone office of the Oyo/Ogbomoso annexe of the Special Anti-robbery Squad [SARS] in Oyo town to report the situation.
Some minutes after, SARS men were said to have arrived and swung into action.
It was learnt that before the arrival of SARS men, the robbers had escaped but left behind two guns and two motorcycles.
It was reliably learnt that following intensive motorized patrol by SARS men, some suspects have been arrested.
Officer-in-charge of SARS, Sola Aremu, confirmed the incident.
Meanwhile, residents have appealed to the police and other law enforcement agencies to re-double their efforts to nip in
the bud heinous activities of the criminals.
Mrs Bimbo Olorunmbe and Elder Johnson Adisa said: “Concerned elite in the town have complained severally about the influx of these suspicious youths to no avail.
“But we are happy at the swift response of SARS men to the latest robbery. The presence of police and not SARS alone, as well as intensive patrols by other security agencies are needed in this town. We cannot sleep with our eyes closed due to fear of attacks”.