The outcome of a legal option explored by a victim of the incessant cases of burglary in Egbe, Yagba West Council, has stirred anger on the part of the victim and the entire community. Residents of Egbe attested to how the community had come under siege of house breaking without any apprehension by the police. So, when an ex-cop turned bricklayer, in his late 40s, was caught in the act and handed over to security agents who wasted no time arraigning him in court, anguished residents thought their prayers had been answered as the culprit would be made to face the full wrath of the law thereby serving as deterrent to others. But that was not to be, at least, in the opinion of the people as a result of what they referred as a “light judgment”. In his judgment delivered at the Magistrate Court 1, Odo Egbe, penultimate Tuesday, the Chief Magistrste, Hon AS Ibrahim, had sentenced the accused, one David Abayomi to six weeks imprisonment, which is to run concurrently. Adebola was arraigned on three count charges, including criminal trespass and house breaking.
The victim, a surgeon, who is not based in Nigeria, had reported a case of several break-ins into his residence during which properties worth over N2.5m were allegedly carted away out of which about N1m worth of stolen goods was recovered by the police from Adebola after his house was searched. Consequent upon his arrest and interrogation by the police, the suspect and defendant, Adebola, according to the police prosecutor, Inspector Akinola, pleaded guilty to all the charges.
The judge had ruled that the value of the property stolen was of substantial sum. He noted that from the available record of the police, the accuse is a first offender. He nevertheless described the act as “condemnable, deliberate and not one by mistake at all”. The Chief Magistrae also ruled that Adebola, from all evidences before him, “concurred and hatched the crime alone”.
ADEBOLA DAVID PHOTOGRAPHED WITH SOME OF THE RECOVERED PROPERTIES
Then it happened.
Hon Ibrahim, in his final judgment, stated “This court will fail his duties if the convict is not taught a lesson so that he will abhor crime of whatever nature and also to serve as a deterrent to others of like mind. The convict is hereby sentenced to 2 weeks of imprisonment for each of the 3 offenses without an option of fine. This sentence is to run concurrently. This is enough punishment in the circumstance of this case.”
In a swift reaction, counsel to the plaintiff, RS John, rejected the magistrate’s pronouncement. “We are not satisfied with the punishment in view of the gravity of the of offense”, he said, adding that his client is exploring further legal options available to him to redress the situation, “especially in view of the fact that a lot of his properties have not been recovered by the police.”
Egbe Under Siege
It will be recalled that as the newly posted Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Icheima Boniface settled down to the onerous task of policing Egbe community, the commercial nerve of Yagba West Council, it was obvious his major tasks would be how to curtail the hydra-headed clashes between residents and Fulani herdsmen and the rash of burglary that has seen cases of house breaking reported to the police station almost on a daily basis. As a matter of urgency, penultimate week, in what would be Boniface’s maiden meeting with community leaders, the rampant issue of house breaking dominated the discussions. Worst hit among the victims were shop owners and teachers living in the community whose houses became easy targets following the recent distribution of laptop computers to teachers across the state at subsidized costs.Several laptops have been reportedly stolen within the last two months. The break-ins, according to victims usually occur on Sundays , at a time worshippers in Egbe, a preponderant Christian community, would have gone to their respective churches of worship. Both police and residents had been left wandering whether the burglars actually resided in Egbe or were outsiders, more so when not a single apprehension had been effected even as break-ins into shops and houses persisted. It was therefore, thought to be cheery news, last weekend, when news of the first arrest filtered in. David Adebola, allegedly dismissed from the Nigerian Police, was caught in the act on Sunday September 15 after after he serially broke into the resident of his victim.
How His Plot Was Hatched And Confessions
“I am the first son of my parents with six children. My family will suffer if I am sentenced to prison. It is the work of the devil because I can’t even explain what pushed me to do this bad thing”
Those were the confessions of Adebola, married and a father of six children. He admitted to having been dismissed from the police force following which he later learned bricklaying. He had been engaged by the UK-based surgeon who is a son-of-the-soil to help build the guard house and also to design the balusters on the fence of the building completed years back. Unknown to the surgeon, Adebola cleverly duplicated the keys into the main building.
The owner of the building, who did not want his name in print, alluding to “a stab in the back” by someone he trusted, narrated the story of how his acquaintance with Adebola started from that of employer/employee and grew to that of father/son relationships, before it ended in the courtroom.
His words: “It is a stab in the back. It discourages philanthropy and provision of gainful employment to indigenes. The mere fact that it was a ruthless, calculating pillaging of the properties with extreme prejudice by somebody trusted, says it all; a stab in the back!”…I never met him until when I was looking for a bricklayer and indeed his work was of the quality that attracted me to cultivate and helm him in whatever way possible. Our relationship was that of an employer. I later saw him as somebody deserving of my assistance. I knew his parents and his family. I took his immediate family to heart. After closing I would take him back in my car to his home. I know a 12-year-old child of his that I stood surety for him to get back from his estranged first wife. In the end, it makes someone to be suspicious of every single human being and not to take anyone on the face value. It simply means whatever one does to assist may not assuage such individuals from working against your interest.”
He continued, ” From his own confessions, while working for me he duplicated and cut keys through which he broke into the building.
He has sets of three keys recovered from him when he was apprehended. Once inside, he gained access to the rooms where other keys were kept. He looted the properties over months. These happened after he had completed his works and I had traveled out of town. Some of the looted properties are personal effects, medical books, some of which are irreplaceable, various sets of camera, electronics, surgical equipment, motor spare parts, generator, sowing machine…as a matter of fact, we are still taking inventory of properties missing from the apartments.
“Obviously, his wife is complicit. Some recovered properties were at their home. Those kept at their parents’ home were moved there by his wife to frustrate the search party. It is possible that some of the materials removed from the house might have been transported across Kogi State boundaries, to Anambra State home of his wife.”.
The house owner added these parting words for the convict and likeminds: “Apart from personal loses, I’d wish that he would have enough time in prison to fully reflect in the enormity of the crime and the anguished that he has caused me, my family, his family and the community. Obviously, he couldn’t have pulled it off alone. There were ready buyers of stolen goods aiding the rash of burglary in the town. The police and the community would have to double their efforts to break the ring of burglars and to make every citizen of this town sleep soundly in their beds without the real risk of burglars invading their space. A message is sent out loud and clear, that, if you prepare to do the crime, you should be prepared to do the jail-time.”
How 14 Year-Old Pupil’s Bravery Led To Burglar’s Arrest
Burglary cases in Egbe are rampant on Sundays. For a predominant Christian community, the neighborhood on Sunday morning is deserted as worshippers massed to the churches. Thus, Adebola’s choice of Sundays to break into his victim’s space was strategic to him. With the aid of cut duplicates of keys, once the surgeon was out of town, the suspect easily broke into the apartment after jumping over the fence from the back of the building. He would hide his vehicle at a nearby through which he conveyed the goods away from the building after the operation. It was on the occasion of a similar operation that his game came up between his eyes one bright Sunday morning. The suspect was apprehended following a tip by a 14-year-old secondary school pupil who became aware of the regular packing of a vehicle near his family residence and decided to alert his grandmother. On that particularly Sunday, September 15, 2013, the boy and his grandmother decided not to go to church. Their calculations worked out as Adebola soon arrived at the usual time and at the same spot. They decided to trace his movement and he was seen coming out of the building from inside.
“The fence was not as high in the back of the building as it is in the front facing the main road. So he jumps in and out over the fence from the back of the building. Once inside the compound, he has the keys into the apartment through the exit door. We were there waiting. So, as he came out, locking the back door behind him, his eyes met our eyes. He pleaded with us that we should not tell anyone and that he was being used by the devil”, disclosed the old mother of the 14 year-old informant, adding,”I pretended I concurred with him, but immediately I left the scene, I called Dr’s brother and sister to tell them what I saw. They were grateful that I saved them the embarrassment of being the first suspects as the original keys were kept in their custody”.
Police later ambushed and arrested Adebola. Some of the recovered stolen properties were paraded and photographed at the police station before his arraignment in court.
When news of his arrest hit the streets of Egbe, the general consensus was that Adebola must take responsibility for all burglary cases reported in recent time. Some said he should help the police in finding answers to raveled cases of illegal entry to people’s homes in Egbe. But that isn’t likely going to be the case at this instance. Definitely not with the 6-week imprisonment which is to run concurrently. So cried out loudly the residents.
What Egbe Residents Say:
Denki John Folusho, an Egbe Prince who opined that the accused person had, by his shameful act, made himself a black sheep and an embarrassment to his family. “I suspect a foul play in that judgement”.
Another resident said of the judgment: “its so unfortunate. Both our criminal and penal code do not take the welfare of the victims(property owners)into consideration. I cant imagine a 6-week sentence in a case involving millions of Naira misappropriated? Severe punishment and sentence would served as a deterent to others but the reverse is the case”.
Oluwole John, calling for the purge of the bench, said a situation where a clear case of house breaking and theft involving properties worth 2 millions stolen could only attract two weeks, is encouraging theft in the land”.
Olugbemi Aremu Kehinde posited: “One of the major problems in our nation today is decadence in the application of criminal justice, well, it shows true justice lies in the hand of God alone, I pray for the reformation in our judicial system”.
