One suspect has been killed in a fierce gun battle between operatives of the state police command and some suspected robbers who invaded Abbey Hostel in Ode Remo, Ogun, where some students of the Gateway ICT Polytechnic Saapade reside.
It was gathered that four suspected robbers stormed the area around 1:30 am on Thursday, January 35, 2024, and started raiding the hostel.
A source told journalists that the students were dispossessed of their mobile phones and other electronic gadgets during the operation.
It was further learnt that while the robbery was ongoing, one of the residents was said to have alerted the police about the operations in the area.
Upon sighting the policemen approaching the area, the suspected robbers started shooting at the anti-crime patrol team dispatched to the hostel to rescue the students from their assailants. One of the robbers was killed in the process.
Confirming the incident to journalists on Thursday, spokesperson of the State Police Command, Omolola Odutola, said other suspects who fled the scene sustained varying degrees of injuries.
“One of the four suspects was neutralised in the gun duel. The three fled the robbery scene with bullet wounds. Our men recovered a bag containing five iPhones, one techno phone, a wristwatch, an iPod, and a power bank. Efforts are currently ongoing to apprehend other fleeing suspects,” Odutola said.
The polytechnic and the student hostels in Sapaade have become hotbeds for robbers in recent times.
In December 2023, a student identified simply as Segun was killed in a robbery incident in the area.
Earlier in November 2023, sporadic shootings were also reported when some suspected robbers invaded students’ hostels, where some personal effects of the students were taken away.
Some female students were also reportedly raped, while others sustained gunshot wounds.