How we raped older women, killed those who had no money – Armed robbery/murder suspects

TWO suspected armed robbers and murderers, Lekan Taiwo and Olasunkanmi Oluwaseyi, have spoken out about their alleged criminal acts before they were caught up by their nemesis and arrested by the Oyo State Police.

The two suspects, usually armed with cutlasses, specialized in robbing victims living in their area during the day and breaking into houses at night.

They were among the 41 suspects paraded by police at the first press conference held by Police Commissioner Ayodele Sonubi on Friday.

According to reports, the two suspects killed a 35-year-old man, Yisa Mohammed, who was on his way to Igbagbo village with his wife Anifat via Iroko in Akinyele Local Government Area on July 4 at about 7:50 p.m.

The wife, who lodged a complaint with the police at about 9pm on the same day, told police officers that the two suspects came out of their hiding place while passing under the bridge in the said Iroko village and attacked them both with cutlasses, resulting in the death of her husband while she managed to flee the scene.

It was further reported that the suspects were subsequently arrested and confessed during interrogation.

They reportedly claimed that the deceased owed them a wage of 5,500 naira but refused to pay it after they worked for him as labourers on his farm.

A few hours before the man’s murder, the suspects allegedly committed the same crime by hacking to death a 60-year-old woman, Nike Odediran. The deceased’s son reported the case to the Moniya Police Headquarters.

Below are excerpts from Sunday Tribune’s interviews with the suspects:

Lekan Taiwo

Can you please briefly tell us about your background?

I am Lekan Taiwo. I am 25 years old. I am from Ibadan, Oyo State and I am a motorcycle mechanic. I lived with my father.

Why were you arrested by the police?

I have killed people.

Please explain.

I live in Iroko community in Akinyele Local Government Area. My accomplice Sunkanmi and I used to rob people armed with cutlasses. The victims we killed were passers-by in the Iroko area. We killed those who tried to resist our attacks or who claimed they had no money to surrender.

How did you come up with the idea of ​​robbing and killing?

My accomplice Sunkanmi is like a neighborhood brother. Sometimes we didn’t have money to eat, so we would go out to find out how to get money. Whenever we came across a victim carrying a bag along the way, we would attack them, thinking we would loot something. However, when we searched the bag after killing the victim, we found that there was actually no money. We went home and planned another operation. In total, we killed five victims. I started in 2023 before Sunkanmi joined me.

How did you usually plan your robberies?

Sunkanmi and I live far away from each other. He looked for me and vice versa. We went to other communities. We also smoked cannabis.

We didn’t know each other when we were young. He also went to Lagos State for a while before returning home. When he returned to the village, we became brotherly. He helped me rob so that we could eat and clothe ourselves well and also live well among our mates.

How did you carry out the robberies?

We usually went out into the neighborhood in the evening or broke into houses in the middle of the night. We went to familiar places. In the afternoon we met people we didn’t know on the paths and streets. We stopped them and robbed them of their money and valuables.

During night operations, we left our homes and avoided areas where night watchmen were patrolling. We spared those who gave us the money we had searched, but we killed those who refused to comply with our demands. We hacked them to death with cutlasses, which were our weapons.

We have learned that you have raped female victims, both young and old. Is that true?

Yes, that’s true, but not all of them. Also, the older women were mostly in their 50s and 60s, not under 70. We simply told the victim, “Let’s have fun with you,” and she gave in to our demand. We ejaculated inside her without using any form of protection.

We also slept with married women when we were in a couple’s house. We ordered the husband to lie down facing the ground. Any man who tried to raise his head was beaten. So the men had no choice but to do what we ordered as long as we got our way. We did not touch girls and teenagers because we learned that this is rape according to the law. We did not know that the same applies to adult women. We did not cover our faces during our operations.

How many people have you killed?

We killed four men and one woman.

Why did you kill the woman?

We wanted to collect money from her, but she told us she didn’t have any. We attacked her with our machete until she died. After that, we searched her bag and found that she did indeed have no money.

We took other victims from the road to a nearby bush and usually inflicted machete blows on those who tried to raise the alarm.

How were you arrested?

On July 4, we attacked the woman I told you about. On the way home, we met a man we used to work for as labourers. It was about 8pm and he was with his wife. He once told me that he was a member of the Aiye sect while I belong to the Eiye brotherhood. When we got to his place, he called my name. He started to abuse me for being lazy and said that I always sleep when I should be working.

I remembered that he was paying us a poor wage for our work, and so, filled with anger, I decided to kill him. I hacked him to death with a cutlass. The woman ran away and went to the police station to report herself.

You claimed hunger drove you to crime, but why did you spend the money to buy cannabis? Did it satisfy your hunger?

I started smoking cannabis when I was about seven years old. Nobody showed me. Whenever I saw a butt of it, I decided to smoke it. I was tough as a kid because sometimes you would get hit for no wrongdoing or accused of doing something you didn’t do. That usually made me angry.

My mother didn’t live with us and my father was a deep well digger who didn’t have much to offer. We were two children – my older sister and I. We took care of what our father bought us to eat. My sister and my mother are dead.

Have you never seen people in your predicament who have struggled through and made it in life without tarnishing their family name?

I have.

So why did you choose to commit a crime and kill innocent victims?

(No Answer.)

Olasunkanmi Oluwaseyi

Tell us something about you.

I am 27 years old.

Were all the things Lekan said true or not?

Yes, that’s all true.

When did you start smoking cannabis?

When I was a little kid. I grew up in Lagos.

Were you both involved in killing victims with cutlasses?

It took me a while to know that Lekan was killing people. I went from my own village Arikanki to his village Igbagbo. I considered him as my younger brother and even took him to a farm where I worked so that we could both earn money. When I noticed his lazy attitude, I chased him away.

Later I went back to him. I joined him in the killing that year and three people lost their lives because of us after I joined him – two men and a woman.

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