THE Department of State Security Service (SSS), on Wednesday, paraded six principal suspects in connection with the killing of the late Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, Principal Private Secretary to the Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, on May 4 this year.Leader of the gang, which killed Oyerinde, Mohammed Abdullahi, along with two others, who carried out the deadly operation told newsmen that they were on a robbery mission based on information given to them by the security guard to the late Oyerinde that he kept huge amount of money at home. This is contrary to speculations doing the rounds that the deceased was assassinated for political reasons.According to Abdullahi, 'when we got to the house, I directed that they should tie the hands of Ihade, the security guard, so that he would not see my face bacause we were friends. We then entered and met Oyerinde and others. Chikezie Edeh fired the warning shot into the air. Then, Oyerinde ran inside the toilet. I then fired a shot at him through the window which hit him directly.'Our mission to the place was for robbery, based on information at our disposal through the maiguard that the deceased was having a huge sum of money at home. Nobody sent us. The operation at Oyerinde's house was the third operation that our gang had ever carried out in the state. We are robbers and not hired killers.'Parading the suspects before newsmen in Abuja, the spokesperson of the service, Marilyn Ogar, Deputy Director, Public Relations, said investigations had so far revealed that Comrade Oyerinde was murdered by the trio of Mohammed Abdullahi, Raymond Origbo and Chikezie Edeh, while the other three suspects, Saidu Yakubu, Sani Abubakar and Hassan Bashiru were receivers of stolen items.According to Ogar, 'investigations have so far revealed that the careless statements made by Ihade, the security guard of Comrade Oyerinde, at various times about his master's position in government, attracted the attention of the prime suspect, Mohammed Abdullahi, who consequently hatched a robbery operation on the day of the robbery.'She disclosed that the prime suspect, who fired the shot that killed Oyerinde, admitted that he got only N6,000 and a blackberry smart phone as his own share from the items they stole from the operation.Items recovered from the gang, which were displayed to newsmen, included three guns, blackberry phones and hammers.One of the receivers of the stolen items from the robbery operation, Sani Abubakar, a 35-year-old from Niger Republic, confessed that on the day of the robbery incident, he bought three blackberry smart phones and one Nokia C5 phone from one of the suspects, Origbo for N52,000 which he resold at N57,000.Another suspect, Hassan Bashiru, who is said to be a bureau de change operator, confessed buying three blackberry smart phones and one C5 phone from Sani Abubakar, who he had known for about five years.Ogar, who said that investigation into the matter was still in progress, promised that the suspects would be handed over to the police for criminal proseecution.The late Oyerinde was killed by unknown gunmen in the early hours of May 4 this year at his residence at No 65, 2nd Ugbor Road, GRA, Benin City, while the state governor pointed accusing fingers at members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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