The Ogun State Police Command has arrested Tobi Shonibare and Odusanya Oni on charges of allegedly stealing electric cables valued at approximately N650,000.
The incident took place in the Isonyin community, part of the Ijebu North-East Local Government Area of the state.
According to The PUNCH, the suspects were caught on June 7, 2024, while attempting to sell the stolen items.
A community insider, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said that Adeyemi Adeshina, a commander of the Social Orientation and Safety Corps, initially detained the suspects.
The case was subsequently handed over to the Atan-Ijebu Division police officers.
“The operatives of the SAFE corps usually patrol the area in the evening. But on Friday, during one of their routine patrols along the Imowo area of the community, they saw Shonibare and Oni and became very suspicious of the duo.
“They were carrying two sacks. It was during their interrogation that they discovered the bag was filled with electric cables. They were not able to provide satisfactory answers when they were questioned by the SAFE corps members,” the resident said on Sunday.
Confirming the arrest on Sunday, Omolola Odutola, the spokesperson for the State Police Command, revealed that the two suspects had confessed to the crime and would face charges in court.
Odutola stated, “The duo was interrogated after the matter was brought to our division in the area. They confessed to the crime. According to them, they stole the cable from a compound in the community. They will be charged after the completion of the investigation.”
There has been a rise in cable thefts in Lagos and Ogun states recently. On May 30, PUNCH reported that around four suspected vandals targeted a transformer on Baale Street in the Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area.
Sources allege that the suspects arrived in the community in the early hours with a tricycle, stole transformer components, caused damage, and then fled.
Similarly, in April, Reports revealed the arrest of a suspected electricity cable vandal named Abu Ali by the Lagos State Police Command.
The arrest was made by officers from the Pen Cinema Division early in the day, following alerts from motorists about the suspect’s activities.
