Police in Oyo State have arrested five persons suspected to be killers of a 68- year-old retired permanent secretary in the state’s civil service, Olaitan Gbenle.
Assailants strangled Mrs Gbenle in her apartment at Apata area of Ibadan on November 10, 2023.
Commissioner of police in Oyo State Adebola Hamzat paraded the suspects before newsmen on Wednesday in Ibadan alongside 30 others arrested on suspicion of murder, armed robbery, and cultism.
He said the five persons arrested over the murder of the former permanent secretary attacked the victim at her residence while armed with sophisticated weapons and dispossessed her of huge sums of money.
He added that the suspects collected the deceased’s mobile phones, a big generating set, laptops, and many other valuables and carted same away in her Toyota vehicles.
“As if that was not enough, the suspects murdered the deceased, leaving her in a pool of her own blood.
“The suspected leader of the robbery syndicate and two of his syndicate members were arrested at their various hideouts,’’ Hamzat said.
He added that the suspects voluntarily confessed to the crime and their leader explained that Gbenle was murdered because she recognised her attackers.
Hamzat said further investigations led to the arrest of the receiver of the two vehicles and the generating set stolen from the deceased’s residence.
One of the suspects told newsmen that he lived in the same community with the deceased and was the one who contacted other gang members to execute the crime.
“I was given N200,000 as my share after we sold her two vehicles,’’ he said.