A 38-year-old Police Traffic Officer, Haruna Yusuf, has been arrested by the Kwara State Police Command this weekend, for allegedly picking a police service pistol from a mosque and selling it to  members of a cult group in Kwara State.

Reports have it that the former Station Officer in charge of Omu-Aran division , Ehigimetor Ileso, had booked for it but was dismissed when he could not return it to the armoury. He died a year after his dismissal.

Sergeant Yusuf, however, met his waterloo when some suspected cultists were arrested by operatives of the Force Intelligence Response Team.

The suspected cultists: Tajudeen Olalekan Hammed ,Chukwudi Eze ,Alebo Elijah ,Alebo Isreal , Abimbola Olaonipekun and Olarinde Abiodun , who left   Kwara State to unleash mayhem on members of rival confraternity in Osun State .
Among the weapons recovered from them was a police pistol.

When investigated, one of the suspects, Eze, a Disk Jogger, disclosed that he purchased the weapons from the policeman.

According to 33-year-old Eze who hails from Enugu State, ”  Aside being a DJ, I also  sell phone accessories at Traffic Junction .I bought a police pistol and a locally made gin   from the police officer for self – defence because of the nature of my work .  Later ,I discovered that I could not use the  police pistol ,I sold the two guns  to  “Rector”  ,who is a student of Kwara State Polytechnic “.

On his part, the policeman, Haruna, said, ” I joined the police as a Constable in 2008  .I am from Benue State but I have been serving in Kwara State ,since I was enlisted .I was first posted to Omu Aran Division and later transferred to other divisions in Kwara bit I am now back in Omu Aran.”

 ” I didn’t steal the pistol. .I don’t know what came over  me .when I saw  it  at the mosque “

” I can only say that I am sorry .Out of the two arms that I sold to him ,one belonged to  the Omu Aran Divisional Police Station ,while the other one was locally-made .That  one that belonged to the division, was what I found outside  the mosque behind the police station.”

 ” I didn’t know that it belonged to the SO It was about three years ago . I sold it to the DJ for N47,000 while I sold the locally made to him for N25,000.

“When I picked the gun ,it didn’t occur to me to take it to the station .

” Before God and man,I have never been involved in any case of stealing  before  The SO is late .now .When  I heard that the division was looking for the gun .I was afraid to recover it from the DJ and hand it over to the armourer and I was not at the division when the Station Officer was being tried for the missing pistol”.

The Osun State Commissioner of Police,  ,Wale Olokode, who  confirmed the arrest of the police Sergeant and suspected cult members , revealed that exhibits recovered from the gang included” one  police Beretta  pistol ,one  locally made revolver pistol, two  locally fabricated pistol, one local cut- to -size short gun , 11 live cartridges ,five knives ,three battle axes and one  cutlass “.

Court remands 4 men for alleged unlawfulpossession of firearms