A notorious gang leader, simply identified as Felix, aka Confidence, has fled after terrorizing the residents of Dalemo town in the Ifo Local Government Area (LGA) of Ogun State.

Confidence, who is an ex-convict, was alleged to have led his gang members, numbering about two hundred (200) to invade the town at about 9:00 pm on Tuesday, April 7th, 2020 and rob the residents they set their eyes on of their valuable belongings, including smartphones and cash.

Flavision gathered that the gang also overran a police checkpoint at Dalemo junction, where some police officers enforcing the COVID-19 lockdown order were stationed.

It was gathered that the hoodlums operated freely until a reinforcement team led by the Agbado Divisional Police Officer, SP Kuranga Yero, arrived at the scene.

A resident of the area, who simply called himself as Debo, told Flavision that it took police operatives some time to prevail against the hoodlums when a confrontation ensued.

He said that Confidence had been terrorising the town and its neighbouring communities for about two years, but the neighbourhood enjoyed peace, when the police arrested him last year.

He stated,

I learnt that he was released from prison recently. He has now returned to the community. Around 9pm on Tuesday, people were outside chatting when he and his boys stormed the streets and started robbing.

They collected phones and money from anybody they saw and beat them up. They also invaded the police checkpoint at Dalemo Junction. Those policemen had to call for a backup from Agbado division. They (hoodlums) were about 200 led by Confidence. He is a young slim man of about 25 years old but he is dangerous.

Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the bandits also raided neighbouring communities, namely Ope-Ilu, Ojurin, Odewale and Campbell, where they were pushed back by some angry youths.

Confidence is a notorious criminal. He was arrested by the police with a gun last year. I was surprised when I saw him on the street about one month ago. His group is called Fesemule and he has about 200 gang members. They usually invade a place en masse and rob people,

the resident said.

A police source told our correspondent that the gang pursued the policemen deployed to the scene, and the officers ran for their money, adding that two suspects were already in custody.

The source recalled,

Around 9pm on Tuesday, the hoodlums on motorcycles invaded the checkpoint of policemen posted at Dalemo Junction to enforce the lockdown order. They started throwing weapons and the policemen took cover.

They had to call for reinforcement. As the team led by the DPO approached the scene, the hoodlums started hurling stones at them. They occupied one end while the police were on the other end. It took some time before policemen were able to chase them away. Two of them were arrested.

Another reliable source said that the gang leader held Dalemo to ransom for many months before his arrest.

He was charged but was released from prison about one month ago. He has started causing panic in Dalemo now. If the police are not many, he would confront them,

the source added.

In related development, Ifo residents were thrown into disarray on Wednesday, April 8th, 2020, when some suspected cultists robbed some buildings.

A landlord, who didn’t want his name to be mentioned, said the assailants operated in the community for three successive days.

I heard them moving from one street to the other. Many people were awake but we could not come out. It was later that some vigilantes chased them,

he stated.

The Ogun State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the two incidents, adding that some suspects were already in police custody.

He said,

He (Confidence) is an ex-convict. He was just released from prison after spending eight months. Two of his gang members terrorising the community have been arrested. We are seriously looking for him.

We are on top of the situation at Ifo. Anti-Cultist team and conventional policemen have been deployed there and we have arrested some of the hoodlums.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.