The Ogun State Community, Social Orientation and Safety Corps, codenamed So-Safe, on Monday, said that it arrested four suspected vandals in the OPIC Estate area of the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of the state for stealing electrical wires valued at N5m.
This is as the corps disclosed the arrest of a suspected member of the Eiye Confraternity who specialised in robbing victims with a fake gun in the LGA.
These were made known in separate statements by the Corps Commandant, Soji Ganzallo, through the Office of the Director of Information and Public Relations, Moruf Yusuf, on Monday.
Ganzallo revealed that the four suspects arrested for cable theft were Mubarak Sheu, Usman Umar, Naura Abubakar, and Aba Rabiu; while Oluwatosin Ayinde was arrested for allegedly robbing unsuspecting members of the public with a toy gun.
Sheu and his cohorts were apprehended on Friday by operatives of the corps from the Ihunsa Divisional Command, while Ayinde was arrested by the Agbara Command of the corps on the same day.
Ganzallo said, “At approximately 12:08hrs on March 22, officers of the corps from the Igere-Ihunsa Divisional Command, under Assistant Commander Adebesin Lukmon, the Agbara Area Commander in the Ado Ota Local Government Area, while on routine patrol, received a distress call requesting their assistance.
“Upon receiving the alert, the officers swiftly responded and apprehended four suspected members of a robbery syndicate. The suspects, residents of Lusada town, are identified as Mubarak Sheu, Usman Umar, Naura Abubakar, and Aba Rabiu.
“The suspects were caught at Block F, Plot 13, Future Expansion, OPIC Estate, Agbara, while vandalizing conduit wires, cables, and sockets worth over N5m.”
On Ayinde’s arrest, Ganzallo said the corps received information about the abduction of one Abiodun Ogunbiyi, a commercial motorcyclist, who discovered that the weapon used was a fake stainless pistol.
He added, “The victim managed to struggle with the suspect on a motorbike, causing the two of them to fall. The motorcycle rider then raised the alarm, alerting the corps officers nearby, who promptly responded to the incident.
“Upon sighting the officers, the suspect threw away the ‘gaslighter’ which resembled a stainless pistol into a nearby bush. This is what the suspect has been using to intimidate his victims and force them into compliance before robbing them.”
The So-Safe boss disclosed that all the suspects had confessed to the crimes while stressing that the suspects and exhibits had been handed over to the police for further investigation.
“Exhibits recovered from the suspect include one blue Honda motorbike manually marked LSR 615 QM, and two Techno Spark 4 phones, which he admitted belonged to Abel Kente, a student.
“The suspects and the recovered exhibits have been transferred to the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation and possible prosecution,” Ganzallo stated.