Operatives of Ogun State Police Command have arrested a 47-year-old hotelier, Paul Niwa and one Michael Odunayo, for stealing a T4 Volkswagen bus, belonging to A&G Logistics Transport Company Sagamu.
The suspects were arrested following a report lodged at Ewu-Oliwo divisional headquarters Sagamu on April 21, 2023, by one Anifowose Kazeem, who reported that his the bus with registration number AAB 22 XB was stolen.
Kazeem had reported that while driving the said bus from Abeokuta towards Sagamu, it developed a mechanical fault at about 1:00a.m. near the Sagamu interchange, which made him to park it by the roadside with the intention of coming 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.
“Upon the report, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ewu-Oliwo division, Toyosi Bello, detailed detectives to unravel those behind the disappearance of the said bus.
“The detectives, who embarked on an intelligence-based investigation, were able to trace the missing bus to the compound of a hotel at Elediye village Sagamu, where the bus has been butchered into pieces to be sold in parts.
“The owner of the hotel, Paul Niwa, was promptly arrested and taken into custody. His arrest led to the apprehension of the second suspect, 27-year-old Michael Odunayo.
“On interrogation, 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 2:00a.m. and took it to Paul Niwa, who happened to be a regular buyer of stolen vehicles and he bought it at the rate of N300,000.00.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that Niwa is a serial receiver of stolen vehicles, which he used to dismantle and sell in pieces,” a police source said.
Meanwhile, the acting Commissioner of Police, Babakura Muhammed, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.
He also directed that the remaining member of the gang, Eri Adeyemi, be hunted for and brought to book.
