A suspected hired assassin, Wasiu Akinwande, popularly known as Olori Eso, has been arraigned by the Lagos State Police Command at the Ogba Magistrate Court on an 11-count charge bordering on murder, unlawful possession of firearms, and other criminal offences.
According to the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, the 44-year-old suspect was arrested during a coordinated tactical operation codenamed “Silence, Speed and Surprise” by the Command’s Tactical Squad. He was apprehended at his hideout in the Agbado area of Ogun State after evading arrest for months.
Described as the “most wanted vicious and notorious hired killer,” Akinwande was said to have been terrorising Mushin and its environs for years. Police revealed that a cache of weapons and incriminating items were recovered from his residence, which he admitted were used for his operations.
Hundeyin confirmed that Akinwande is facing multiple charges, including the alleged murder of Bankole Yusuf and Ramadan Yusuf on July 31, 2024, in Mushin. One of the charges also alleged that on December 9, 2010, he killed 10-year-old Aminat Lateef, who was sent on an errand in the Fadeyi area of Lagos.
The charge sheet further detailed that Akinwande and accomplices, still at large, killed five persons during a factional clash on July 31, 2024, using AK-47 rifles. He was also charged with unlawful possession of several weapons, including two AK-47 rifles, a K2 assault rifle, pistols, ammunition, walkie-talkies, and a poisonous dagger.
Another charge accused Akinwande of attempting to kill 58-year-old Awawu Ajalara by shooting both her legs with an AK-47 rifle in 2011. She was said to have suffered permanent disability as a result.
The offences contravene various sections of the Lagos State Criminal Law of 2015 and the Firearms Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (as amended).
Police have reaffirmed their commitment to ridding Lagos and its environs of violent criminal gangs and assured that justice will be pursued to its full extent.
