Owonikoko John, a 36-year-old Unit Commandant of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN), has been apprehended in Ogun State for his alleged involvement in arms trafficking and participation in criminal activities.
The Ogun State Police Command has identified John as the mastermind behind several illicit activities in the Obalende area and other parts of the state.
John’s arrest took place during an operation led by Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Omosanyi Adeniyi, the Area Commander of Ijebu-Ode, along the Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode-Benin highway. During the arrest, a firearm was found in John’s possession.
In a subsequent confession, John reportedly implicated Inspector of Police, known as Ola, as the individual who supplied him with the firearm.
Pastor Ola, who also worked as a spy police officer, admitted to selling his pump action rifle to the suspected armed robber but claimed he did so with caution. He expressed remorse for his actions, stating, “If I had known, I would not have done it that way.”
Pastor Ola further explained that he was contacted by the police on a Wednesday while preparing to travel to Ibadan with his boss. He was informed that his wife had been taken to the police station by some individuals. Upon arrival at the Divisional Police Station, he was questioned by the Divisional Police Officer regarding the sale of a gun to an armed robber. Pastor Ola clarified that it was officials from the VGN who had purchased the firearm from him, and he had been referred to them by a well-known individual named Omooba in his area.
