70 Year-old Security Guard, Nabbed For Attempted Burglary
The Lagos State Police Command has on thursday arrested a 70 year-old man. Oluwape was caught red-handed allegedly breaking into a shop at Mologede bus stop, in the Powerline, Meiran area of the state.
Source revealed that the suspect was formerly employed to provide security for the street, and was dismissed three years ago over a similar incident.
An eye witness disclosed, “The shop is at the back of my house. Around 12.30am last Thursday, there was a noise from the shop.
“I called another landlord, who said I should inform the baale if the noise continued. After 20 minutes, the noise continued.
“By the time I got close to the shop, I saw the suspect coming out of the place. His hands, clothes and sandals were full of dust. So, I grabbed him and started interrogating him.
“He was fidgeting. I decided to take him to the main road so that people could see him because he was formerly the street security guard; he was sacked three years ago.”
The shop owner, Mrs. Nosifat Muhammed, said that she asked the police to release the suspect because of his age.
In her words “I sell foodstuffs in my shop and this is the second time that this will be happening. When I went to the police station and saw that the suspect was an old man, I was shocked. I asked the police to close the case because my husband said the man was too old to be jailed,”.
The suspect, however, said the police released him because there was no evidence against him, adding that he never burgled any shop.
Oluwape said he was securing the shop of a welder on the street when he heard a noise from the woman’s shop and he went to check what was happening.
In his words “As a security guard watching over a shop that was opposite the shop that was burgled, I decided to come out with my torch to visit the scene.
“On getting there, I didn’t see anybody. I was leaving the place for my house when I was accused by the landlord that I was the one behind the burglary. The police released me on Saturday because they could not find any evidence against me.” he declared.
When Rasak Onigade, the welder who owned the shop Oluwape claimed to be guarding, was contacted, he denied him, saying, “I never asked him to watch over my shop; it is a lie. I have also made my statement at the police station.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident, saying the police were preparing to arraign the suspect when the shop owner withdrew the case.
