A teenager who stormed a secondary school and threatened students with a locally made gun during the inter-house sports event has been arrested by the police.
The boys paraded alongside other criminals
A 17-year-old suspected cult member is now in police net after he allegedly invaded a secondary school in Ogun State with a gun to unleash mayhem on unsuspecting students, NewTelegraph reports.
According to the report, Tunde Labinjo, who finished from Overcomers Senior School, Ijebu-Ode in 2015, was said to have stormed the inter-house sports event of Muslim Cooperative School in Ijebu-Ode with the weapon concealed inside a polythene bag.
The teenager belongs to the secret cult group called, Eiye Confraternity. Luck ran out on the criminal after policemen deployed to ensure security at the school’s sporting competition sighted him and suspected his bag.
He was promptly arrested after the shocking discovery of a locally-made pistol in his possession.
While speaking about the discovery, the teenager denied that the gun belonged to him. He claimed that one Bolaji, now at large, was the real owner.
Labinjo said:
“On Tuesday (March 22), there was a brother who gave me a gun. He gave me at night. I did not want to take the gun home, so I kept it behind a school.
"On Wednesday, he now called and said he wanted to collect his gun; I was at the gate entrance, yet to enter the school.
“But I said I couldn’t come back. He now asked if he could come and collect it at Lagos Garage (in Ijebu-Ode), I said okay. I wanted to use the opportunity to give him his property. I gave it to my friend Dare Afisu."
Before police searched them however, Afisu had returned Labinjo’s bag to him. They searched Afisu and found nothing incriminating on him. He was allowed to go. But when they searched Labinjo, they discovered the gun.
Labinjo said: “The policemen asked what was in the bag. When I realised they could beat my friend over what didn’t belong to him, I told them Dare was not the owner of the bag. They didn’t even listen to me after discovering the gun. They whisked us away to Obalende (police station in Ijebu-Ode).”
The suspect insisted that if the police operatives had delayed a bit at the scene, they would have succeeded in apprehending the real owner of the gun. Recounting how he became a cultist shortly after leaving secondary school, Labinjo said that he was initiated on February 19, this year.
Labinjo said: “I regret my action. I have just been initiated. I finished secondary school in 2015. I joined Eiye on February 19, 2016.
"Three members of the cult beat me severely on that day. But they said due to the absence of Ibaka, the initiation process would not be completed. They said they would call me when Ibaka is around. Ibaka is the leader.”
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the suspects would be charged to court on completion of investigation.
Adejobi warned against criminalities, saying anyone that committed crime would be fished out and brought to justice. He said the police command remains committed to ensuring safety and security in schools across the state.