- Arrested suspects face trial
A rare show of bravery exhibited by a 19-year-old girl has foiled a robbery operation in Ota, Ogun State, and culminated in the arrest of the leader of the robbery gang.
The gunmen were said to have gained access into the home of Taiwo Badmus’s parents on Arogunmola Street in Animashaun part of the city through her mother’s shop at nightfall on May 25 and held the family at gunpoint.
The robbers were said to have positioned themselves in the victims’ compound while the leader of the gang went into the house and another member was stationed at the entrance of the apartment.
The gang leader then asked Taiwo, who is said to be a basketball player, and her siblings to lie face down as they started demanding ATM cards, cash, mobile phones, and other valuables from their parents, particularly their father who the dare-devil men asked to raise his head and comply.
Taiwo, who was lying down behind the robber, noticed that the gang leader had concentrated his attention on her father. She got up suddenly, grabbed a disused music deck player and, from behind, hit the robber on the head.
The robber, whose hand was on the trigger, was said to have collapsed on the spot while a bullet escaped from the barrel of his gun, bruising Taiwo’s hand. Emboldened by the turn of events, Taiwo’s father and siblings got up and held the robber down while other members of the gang took to their heels on hearing the sound of gunshot, thinking that the family was armed and had shot their leader.
Taiwo, who narrated the incident in a chat with our reporter, said: “The robbers entered our house through my mother’s shop at No 12, Arogunmola Street, Animashaun area of Ota, Ogun State on Saturday, May 25, 2024, and ordered all of us to surrender our mobile phones and other valuables.
“My mother’s shop is part of our house. One of the robbers then marched us into the sitting room where my father was and ordered him to bring out his ATM card.”
Taiwo said the fear that the robber who had pointed a gun at his father could harm him and her siblings made her to summon courage and think of how she could rescue her family members.
She said: “I noticed that he was alone and telling about six of us what to do, and that got me angry.
“When I saw that he had concentrated his attention on my father and had lost focus on the rest of us, I picked up an old music deck player and hit him on the head from behind.
“The robber went down and unconsciously shot the gun he was holding, which hit me in the hand.”
Her brave act encouraged the other family members who were lying down all along. They sprung to their feet, disarmed the robber and apprehend him.
Taiwo said on noticing that their leader had been overpowered, the other members of the gang who had positioned themselves in the compound fled to avoid arrest.
The arrested robbery suspect identified as Adesola Olawale has since been handed over to the police and was arraigned at the Ota Magistrate Court, Ogun State on Tuesday, June 11.
The court however ordered that he be remanded at the Oba Correctional Centre in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
Taiwo on her part has since been treated for her bullet wounds. However, her bravery caught the attention of the palace of the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Abdulkabir, who, sources said, invited Taiwo and praised her for her heroic feat.
The first-class monarch, according to sources, has also taken up the medical bill of the young girl for the removal of some pellets that lodged in her hand.
“The girl (Taiwo) still has about four bullets yet to be removed from her hand. The shots hit her at close range and some bullets have been removed already.
”However, the royal palace of the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege, has picked up part of the medical bill for the operation to remove the remaining bullets from Taiwo’s hands,” the source added.
