Four alleged Internet fraudsters arrested for killing friend, suspects blame drug

Men of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested four suspected Internet fraudsters for allegedly killing their friend, Uzoma Alexander, 20.

The suspects —  Babatunde Owoseni; Azeez Oyebanji, aka Biggy; Ayobami Adesina; and Balogun Sulaiman — were arrested following a report at the Adigbe divisional police headquarters by the victim’s mother, Ogechi Alexander.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement on Wednesday, said Ogechi reported that her son left home on November 20, 2021, and did not return home.

The PPRO said the victim’s mother reported further that her son told her that he was going to visit some of his friends, whom she did not know.

He said, “A case of a missing person was subsequently reported at the Adigbe division, but when the whereabouts of the victim remained a mystery after some days, the Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Bankole, directed that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for discreet investigation.

“At the SCIID, the DSP Nurudeen AbdulGafar-led section embarked on intelligence and technical investigation, which led to the identification of one Babatunde Owoseni as the person who was last seen with the victim and he was promptly arrested.”

The PPRO said Owoseni led policemen to arrest the three accomplices.

Oyeyemi said, “On interrogation, they confessed that the victim came to their house to learn Internet fraud, and after eating food, they all took a substance known as Colorado, which made them fall asleep.

“They confessed further that when they woke up around 8pm, they met the victim on the ground and that he had already vomited all over his body.

“When they tried to carry him, they discovered that he was no longer breathing.

At that point, Azeez Oyebanji, aka Biggy, from whom they bought the drug was invited, and he advised that they should throw the corpse away.

“It was then that Ayobami and Balogun arranged for a Uber driver to come and when the driver came, Ayobami collected the vehicle from him and used it to carry the corpse to the top of Kuto overhead bridge, where it was dumped.

“The corpse was later removed by state health workers and buried as an unknown corpse.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that there was a mark of violence on the head of the deceased as shown in the picture taken by health workers before it was buried.

“The Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, has ordered the investigating team to expedite action on the investigation and charge the case to court as soon as possible.”

Punch