The Lagos
State Police Command has arrested two suspects, Taofeek Babatunde and Ibrahim
Sise for allegedly vandalising Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL)
underground cables in Ikeja. The suspects were paraded at the command
headquarters in Ikeja. yesterday, they were also accused of offering a N500,000
bribe to the anti-
crime patrol team of the Ikeja Police Division who
apprehended them.Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni said:
“They were
caught vandalising, cutting, stealing and loading NITEL cables into a truck on
Works Road junction beside the Lagos State High Court. When the suspects were
accosted, they offered to the bribe the policemen to cover up their crime. They
offered N500,000 and, of course, the policemen played along with them and
collected the money.
“They arrested
the suspects after collecting the money, which you can see right here. On
counting the money, it was discovered that it amounted to N493,500 and the
policemen, in furtherance to the call of responsible and effective policing by
the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), turned down the gratification.
“Those
policemen stood their ground, although they played along as if they were going
to collect the money, which they handed over to their Divisional Police Officer
(DPO). The N493,500 offered as bribe, the Volvo truck with which they were
about to cart away the vandalised cables, the saw blades they used as tools for
cutting those underground cables and, of course, the cables that have been
loaded in to the truck, were recovered and would be used as exhibits.
Efforts are on
to arrest the third suspect, Wasiu Salami, who is on the run. The two suspects
we have will be arraigned before the court on Tuesday."
Sise, however
has denied doing anything wrong. He said he is a scrap dealer who patronizes
some men for items in quantities. Adding that he didn't know his customers
usually stole the items they sold to him. He also said that he didn't offer any
bribe to the police, that they
Sise said:
“Some guys
usually sold scraps to me but in little quantities, about N3,000 or N5,000. I
don’t really know much about these guys, but I know they live at Apapa. They
came to me on Sunday and said they wanted to bring a big business for me. But
they requested for a huge amount of money, which I refused to give them. “I
insisted on accompanying them to the place.
So, on getting there, I already knew it wasn’t legal. I asked them how they planned to do it and they said they were doing it with a police patrol team. Even before we left, they made me speak with the policemen.
“We went in
the night. I saw the patrol team and the boys. I do not know how to cut; I only
buy and sell. So, I just left there and went to a club at Ikeja under bridge.
After two hours, I went back and saw that they had finished the job.
“We were
packing the cables into the truck when another patrol team came. The two patrol
teams met there. I’m saying the truth. So, the patrol team that arrested me was
discussing with the patrol team we were with already.
“Our patrol
team came to me and asked how much I could afford to give those people to
settle them. I said they should negotiate with them and that any amount they
agreed. We agreed that they would come and meet me and I would give them, if I
had it with me.
“Later, he
came to me and said I should give him N300,000. At that time, I had only
N250,000. I had to go back and get money to complete it. I came back and gave
them the money. The boys who stole the cable and loaded the vehicle were still
around when I brought the money.
“The police
told the driver to drive the vehicle to the station. We followed, even with the
boys. When we got there, he (a policeman) said he would take N500,000 and I
didn’t have any more money. I had to go back that night to knock on people’s
doors to beg for money, just because I wanted to settle it. I came back, gave
him the balance of N200,000, which is the money here.
“After
collecting the money, he said I should stay with the driver that in the
morning, when the DPO comes, we would talk. I stayed till the DPO came, and
that was it. The police didn’t arrest the boys. They went away scot-free. I
have been doing this business for 13 years now. I have never been to a police
station. I don’t know if this was a trap set for me.”
The driver,
Babatunde, said he was promised N30,000 to drive the truck, adding that he
agreed because he was told some policemen were part of the arrangement.
Source: The
Nation
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