Men of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested a 47-year-old hotelier, Paul Niwa, and one other, Michael Odunayo, for allegedly stealing a bus belonging to A&G Logistics Transport Company, Sagamu.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
Oyeyemi said one Kazeem Anifowose complained to the Ewu-Oliwo Divisional Police Headquarters, Sagamu of the missing bus.
He said the incident happened last week Friday at Sagamu interchange in the state.
The PPRO said,
“The complainant said he is the driver in charge of a T4 Volkswagen bus with number plate AAB 22 XB, and that while driving the said vehicle from Abeokuta towards Sagamu at about 1am, the vehicle developed a mechanical fault at the Sagamu interchange, which made him park it by the roadside to come with a mechanic in the morning to fix it.
“But surprisingly, when he got to the scene the following morning, the bus was no longer there, and all efforts to find it proved abortive.”
Oyeyemi said the Divisional Police Officer, Ewu-Oliwo Division, CSP Toyosi Bello, instructed a team of detectives to investigate the disappearance of the vehicle.
He added that the detectives embarked on a technical and intelligence-based investigation and were able to trace the missing vehicle to the compound of A-Z Hotel at Elediye village, Sagamu, where the vehicle has been butchered into pieces to be sold in parts.
The police spokesman added, “The owner of the hotel, Paul Niwa, was there and was then promptly arrested and taken to custody.
“His arrest led to the apprehension of the second suspect, 27-year-old Michael Odunayo.
“On interrogation, Michael Odunayo, confessed to the police that it was himself and one Eri Adeyemi, who is now at large, that towed the vehicle away from where it was parked at about 2am and took it to Paul Niwa, who happened to be a regular buyer of such stolen vehicles and he bought it at the rate of N300, 000.”
Oyeyemi added that preliminary investigation revealed that Niwa is a serial receiver of stolen vehicles, which according to him, he used to dismantle and sell in pieces.
The PPRO however, said the acting state Commissioner of Police, DCP Babakura Muhammed, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation while efforts are being intensified to apprehend their fleeing accomplice.