The police in Ilorin have mounted a man-hunt for suspected robbers and carjackers that have attacked many residents at different locations in the city in  the past few weeks.

In one of the incidents, a gang of three suspected armed robbers bit more than they could chew when they attacked the occupants of a compound on Old Jebba Road in the Sango area of Ilorin.

The gang allegedly arrived in the compound at about 10.45 pm. The occupants were said to be resting at home after the day’s activities, but they were unaware that danger was lurking.

CRIME DIGEST learnt that one of the robbery suspects was armed with a locally-made pistol when they entered the house. Almost immediately, they ordered the owner of the house and his entire family to lie on the ground before dispossessing them of some money and a Nokia cell-phone.

But there was a twist to the robbery operation. One of the sons of the landlord had summoned courage and attacked the suspect that carried the locally-made pistol. Both men struggled for awhile, but the youth succeeded in overpowering and disarming the suspect.

Emboldened by the incident, the other members of the family wasted no time in raising the alarm, which attracted the attention of their neighbours.

Sensing danger, the three suspects consequently took to their heels. In their struggle to escape, a  Sagem V.56 cell-phone belonging to one of the suspects fell from his pocket.

The victims reported the incident to the Kulende Divisional Police Station and handed the phone  to the police.

The Officer in Charge of the Special Armed  Robbery Squad, Kwara State Command, Mr. Gbenga Ojo, confirmed the incident to our correspondent on Tuesday.  He added that the painstaking investigation and intensive efforts of SARS operatives led to the arrest of two members of the gang, Dayo Eniola and Olajide Agboola.

Ojo said that one of the two suspects was discovered to be the  owner of the cell-phone  earlier recovered from the scene of the crime, and that the police had intensified efforts to arrest the third suspect who is still at large.

Also, the police in Ilorin are on the trail of five members of a suspected gang of carjackers, who  stole a Honda Element Sport Utility Vehicle valued at N2.2m, from a woman and demanded the sum of N400,000 in exchange for the car.

CRIME DIGEST learnt that at about 8 am on June 1, the woman, who lives in the Gaa Akanbi area of Ilorin, was attacked by the robbers as she drove her children to school.

The six suspects had arrived on two motorcycles. They were said to have blocked their victim on Gaa Akanbi Road, overpowered her, and snatched the vehicle at gun point. They held the woman and her children hostage inside the vehicle and drove to the old Ilorin-Ogbomoso Road, where they abandoned them.

The suspects were alleged to have made away with the SUV and an X3 cell-phone valued at N16,000.

A few days later, one of them phoned the victim’s husband and demanded N400,000 in exchange for the stolen vehicle.

The caller was said to have sent several text messages allegedly threatening to further deal with the man and his family if they failed to meet his demand.

The woman’s husband reported the matter to the police and obeying the instructions of  the SARS operatives investigating the case, he played along with the suspect. At length, he was able to persuade the latter to settle for the sum of N250,000.  Both of them agreed that the money would be deposited in a bank account that was provided by the suspect.

The complainant was said to have paid the first instalment  of  N100,000 to the account on June 15. The following day, one of the principal suspects and a resident of Ilorin, Chigozie Ogbonna,  was arrested in Aba, Abia State in the process of withdrawing  the money from the bank.

The cell-phone allegedly used by Ogbonna to communicate with the complainant was recovered from him. The threatening text messages, which he allegedly sent to the complainant, were found to be intact on the phone.

The stolen vehicle was later recovered from a spot where it was abandoned in Oyo town, Oyo State.

The police have since commenced intensive efforts to apprehend the fleeing suspects, the Kwara  Command said.