Oyo State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of three men linked to the hijacking of a tanker carrying 45,000 litres of petrol. The truck, which was reportedly seized on the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode Road, was said to be transporting fuel belonging to NIPCO Petroleum Nigeria Limited.
According to a statement made on Sunday by the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Adewale Osifeso, the command received intelligence in the early hours of April 5, 2025. The information revealed that a DAF truck, with registration number Adamawa YLA 575 ZY, had been hijacked by armed individuals.
“On April 5, 2025, at approximately 1:00 am, the command’s Monitoring Unit received actionable intelligence regarding a hijacking incident involving a DAF truck with registration number Adamawa YLA 575 ZY on the Ijebu-Ode-Ibadan road.”
Osifeso noted that the suspects were armed with dangerous weapons. In response, the police deployed a special team from the monitoring unit to track down those behind the attack. Their efforts paid off when the stolen vehicle was traced to Lincoln Filling Station, located in Odo-Ona Kekere, Ibadan.
There, officers found two suspects—35-year-old Oyekunle Olaoluwa and a 51-year-old man identified as Akanji Ladele—siphoning fuel from the tanker. They were taken into custody immediately.
During questioning, both men confessed that they had received the tanker from a man named Femi, believed to be the brain behind the entire operation. Their statements helped the police identify and arrest another suspect, 30-year-old Basiru Azeez, who also admitted his role in the crime.
“This revelation led to the identification and subsequent arrest of Basiru Azeez, 30, a pivotal figure in the operation who has since confessed to his role in orchestrating the hijacking and provided details on how the truck was diverted after the crime,” the statement added.
Osifeso said investigations are ongoing, with the aim of finding all those connected to the incident. He added that the police are determined to break the chain of criminal activity involved in such fuel thefts.
