Breaking: How notorious robber, rapist Ajayi escaped from police custody in Lagos

A source at the command headquarters said Ajayi, more popularly known as Ogologo, shortly after his arrest by operatives of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, was arraigned and remanded by the court.

Ajayi was, however, returned to the SARS office in Ikeja.

The source noted that this was due to the COVID-19 restrictions, which prevented the custodial service from taking in fresh inmates at the time.

But after the disbandment of SARS due to the nationwide protest against police brutality, some of the suspects in its cell escaped. Among those who fled was Ajayi.

The 27-year-old ex-convict was paraded on July 1, 2020 by the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, at the command headquarters for raping no fewer than eight women during robberies in different parts of the state.

Among his victims were civil servants and lawyers, who were said to have stormed the SARS office to testify against him.

Ajayi, who was arrested in the Ijora Badia area, confessed to the rape of three women. He also asked the police to kill him, saying he could not change from his old ways.

He had said, "I prefer to be killed than go to prison. I have been imprisoned before, but when I came out, I had no job and that was why I went back to robbing people. I have only raped three victims, and it was when their husbands and bosses refused to cooperate with me that I raped their wives and maids in their presence.ÔÇØ

The source according to The Punch, said the suspect, shortly after the parade, was taken into SARS custody and arraigned for robbery.
"Ajayi was not arraigned for rape, but robbery. Because of COVID-19, he was remanded in police custody and that was where he escaped along with other suspects during a jailbreak. They almost killed one of the officers while escaping,ÔÇØ the source added.

Another officer, who also confirmed the incident, gave further details.
"They were well over 100 robbery suspects that escaped. Some officers aided their escape, because SARS was disbanded. Two of the policemen were arrested. We were able to arrest about 16 of the suspects, who could not scale the fence. Those ones were still on the premises, but others scaled the fence and fled. They almost killed the station officer in the process.ÔÇØ

After his escape from custody, Ajayi robbed two families and raped a woman after his escape from custody.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said he was making enquiries about the purported escape of Ajayi.