The Amotekun Corps, a southwest security organization, stopped a car robbery attempt on the Akure-Ilesa Expressway on Friday and found an oil-filled vehicle in the process.

Retired Brig.-Gen. Bashir Adewinmbi, commander of the corps in Osun, revealed to newsmen in Osogbo on Saturday that the robbers attacked vehicles at the Ileki/Osu axis of the Ilesha-Akure Road for nearly an hour.

He said that at at 11.46 p.m., a driver who had escaped the bandits’ ambush called in an Amotekun patrol squad, who then pursued the criminals away.

“The bandits ambushed cars and fired into the air, forcing drivers to stop, get out of their cars, and flee into the bushes.

“When the robbers, however, saw that Amotekun patrol team was coming for them, they fled the scene after operating on the road for almost an hour,’’ he said

Adewinmbi added that after the robbers fled, a truck loaded with diesel and petrol but abandoned by its driver, was recovered and taken to the Amotekun office in Osogbo.

He said through the waybills found in the recovered truck, contact was made with the owner of the goods and the driver and his assistant who ran into the bush were reached.

He said the driver explained that they were travelling from Lagos and heading to Abuja through Lokoja when they were ambushed.

Adewinmbi said the vehicle, with the goods intact, was released to the driver on Saturday in Osogbo in the presence of police operatives from Ayeso Police Station, Ilesha, which covers the jurisdiction of the incident.

He said police commended the Amotekun team for its efforts and sought more collaboration to tackle rising highway robberies, especially along the Owena-Ile-Ife Expressway in Osun.

Adewinmbi cautioned motorists, especially those conveying expensive goods or items against night journeys.

He stressed that if they must move at night, they should be wary about the routes they plied.