By Abimbola Ogunnaike
An official of the Nigerian Navy, Ibrahim Adamu, 25; and an operative of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Abdullahi Abdulwahab, 26; are now cooling off in police cell in Edo State over alleged car snatching and armed robbery.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, while parading the suspects on Tuesday, 9 May, 2023, said they were arrested in military uniforms in Ekpoma by operatives while acting on credible information.
According to Nwabuzor, the suspects attacked the driver of an unregistered C300 Mercedes Benz car in Sapele, Delta State and snatched the car from him and also forced him to transfer N400,000 to their account.
The state police spokesperson said the suspects were meant to take the car to Abuja and sell it when they were arrested by the police in Ekpoma, Edo State.
“The suspects have made statements and claimed to be personnel of the Nigerian Navy and Correctional Service respectively,” he said, adding that the vehicle and military uniform were also recovered from the suspects
Speaking with newsmen during an interview, Adamu, who was recruited into the Nigeria Navy in 2019, said he was arrested for stealing a Mercedes Benz C300 car in Delta State.
“I was recruited into the Navy in 2019. I worked in Lokoja, Kogi State before I was posted to Warri, Delta State. It was when I went on a course in Sapele that I made the plan to steal a vehicle.
“After my course, Abdullahi came to visit me and I told him my plans, assuring him that we would make money and he agreed to join me,” Adamu said.
Adamu’s partner in crime, Abdullahi, who was said to be a correctional service officer in Kaduna State, said Adamu invited him to Warri for the job, saying that was his first time taking part in a robbery.