In a bizarre twist of criminal activity, a middle-aged man, Olajide Oladapo, has confessed to buying a stolen Ford Jeep for N850,000, well below its market value of N3,000,000, and taking it to church for a thanksgiving service. The shocking revelation came after Oladapo was paraded by the Osun State Police Command alongside three other suspects, Taiwo Adekunle, Adebayo Opeyemi, Hassan Ibrahim, and Oba Wasiu, all of whom were implicated in a string of armed robberies.
Oladapo, an ex-convict who had previously served six years in prison, admitted to knowingly purchasing the stolen vehicle. When questioned, he explained, “Yes, I knew it was a stolen car, but I bought it anyway. I even took it to church for thanksgiving, although the pastor wasn’t aware it was stolen.”
This was not Oladapo’s first brush with crime. The suspect had previously bought a stolen Corolla car for N550,000, further establishing his link to the criminal underworld.
The Osun State Police Command, represented by ASP Giwa-Alade Emmanuel Oluwaseun, 2i/c Public Relations Officer, disclosed the chain of events that led to Oladapo’s arrest. On August 14, 2024, a complainant reported to Iwo Division that his family home in Adeeke, Iwo, Osun State, had been broken into by a three-man gang of armed robbers. The robbers took away valuable belongings, including credit cards, N20,000 in cash, a Nigerian Army ID card, and a Redmi 12 Pro phone worth N330,000.
During the robbery, the complainant managed to confront the criminals, forcing them to abandon a Hero Hunter motorcycle, a locally made pistol, and other items at the scene. Police quickly took over the investigation, and within days, detectives arrested Taiwo Adekunle, who had traveled from Abeokuta, Ogun State, to participate in the robbery. Taiwo revealed that his role was to deliver stolen vehicles to buyers, and he named Oladapo as one of his clients.
Investigations were extended to Akure, Ondo State, where Oladapo was arrested, and the stolen Ford Jeep, which had been taken from Ibadan, Oyo State, was recovered. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Adebayo Opeyemi and Hassan Ibrahim, both of whom were tracked down in Iwo, Osun State. Their confessions revealed the involvement of Wasiu Oba, who was later apprehended in Ilorin, Kwara State. The police also recovered locally made pistols during the raids.
ASP Giwa-Alade Emmanuel further disclosed that another suspect, identified as Alfa Bashiru, remains at large, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend him. The arrested suspects, meanwhile, will be charged to court after the investigation is concluded.
The arrest of Oladapo and his accomplices has brought to light a disturbing network of criminals involved in car theft and armed robbery, with the stolen goods being moved across multiple states. Oladapo’s decision to bring a stolen vehicle to a church for a thanksgiving service has added a surreal twist to the case, raising questions about the extent of his moral compass and the audacity of his actions.
Peoplesmind
