Police arrest 20 suspects for allegedly conniving to steal equipment and transformer cables valued at N40m, property of Kuramo Industries Limited.
Police identified the defendants as Ukani Egwu, 29; Solomon Ofili, 22; Emeka Chimeobi, 27; Chidebere Arene, 25; Ugwuagbo Joel Oboma, 27 and Friday Akpan, 53.
Others included Jacobs Zachariah, 35; Adesoye Alex, 24; Chive Ofili, 50; Mukaila Yusuf, 23; Chinoso Emmanuel, 23 and ten others.
Police alleged that trouble started for the defendants when the management of Kuramo Industries Limited petitioned the Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG Durosimi Olatoye in charge of Zone 2 Command, Lagos that suspected thieves vandalized its transformer and carted away equipment and cables valued at N40m and escaped.
Following the report, AIG Olatoye gave a marching order to his crack team to hunt down the suspects and the Police team succeeded in arresting twenty defendants at various locations in the Isolo area of Lagos State through intelligence gathering and tracking.
After an investigation by Inspector Ayo Odubu and his team, the defendants were charged before the Tinubu Magistrate’s Court on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.
Police prosecuting Counsel, ASP Francis Igbinosa informed the court in the charge marked L/22/2024 that the defendants committed the offence on 7 May 2024 at Alhaji Ogunlani Road, off Festac Road, Ago Palace Road, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.
Igbinosa told the Court that the defendants vandalized the complainant’s transformer and stole equipment and cables valued at N40m and escaped before they were arrested through tracking.
He said the offences, the defendants committed were punishable under sections 411, 287(9)(d) and 168 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State,2015.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges, and Magistrate Mr Babalola granted them N500,000 bail each with one surety each in like sum and adjourned the case till 26 June 2024 for mention.
Babalola ordered that the defendants be detained at the Ikoyi correctional facility till they perfected the bail conditions.
