… Confesses Breaking Into Residences to Steal
Felix Mordi
A 21-year-old suspected burgler, who disguised as a scavenger of condemned iron scraps, has been arrested by the police in Itele-Otta, Ogun State.
Found in his possession were seven ceiling fans, blades and cable wires, suspected to have been stolen.
The suspect, Ibrahim Adamu, according to the Police, confessed that himself and one Azonto, now at large, specialized in breaking into premises of unsuspecting members of the public, on sensing that occupants of such buildings were away from home, and stole their valuables.
Azonto, who hails from Adamawa, police preliminary investigation revealed, pretended to scavenge condemned iron scraps, as with Adamu. He was said to had escaped arrest.
Efforts are being made to apprehend him, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Omolola Odutola disclosed in a press statement.
Adamu, on his part, after arrest and a search conducted on the sack he was cuddling, were discovered the stolen items, and was taken to the station, where “he played dumb and unable to provide satisfactory information on how he came about the items in his possession”, the PPRO said.
Continuing, Odutola said, “No dangerous weapon or gun was found on him; just the sack containing the items mentioned above and, from careful observation, the items are not condemned or disposed by the owner, but vandalized, useful items.
“The suspect has been handed over to the state Criminal Investigation Department for discreet investigations, at the conclusion of which, he will be charged to court”.
Meanwhile, according to the command’s spokesperson, “The state Commissioner of Police, CP Alamutu Mustapha, is abreast of the surge in recent menance constituted by scavengers and scrap pickers, and has mandated the immediate arrest of anyone found vandalizing government property or property of the people in the guise of being a scavenger.