‘My Cousin Taught Me How To Steal From Shops’ – 22-Year-Old Suspect

Daniel Olanrewaju, a self-confessed robber has ended up in police custody three weeks after he broke into a boutique in Agbado, Ogun State. It was learnt that the 22-year-old suspect was accosted by some vigilantes in the community while he was roaming about last Tuesday night.

When he was questioned on his mission in the area, he
reportedly could not give satisfactory answers. He was arrested and
handed over to the police at the Agbado division. After further
interrogation, he confessed to have burgled the boutique and stolen
trousers, jerseys, among other clothes.

The resident
of Somolu, Lagos State, reportedly led the police to arrest one Ibrahim,
with whom he kept some of the stolen clothes. Olanrewaju told City
Round during the week that he burgled the boutique on January 28, 2019
at night. He said he entered the attic and broke the ceiling to gain
access into the shop. He explained that after the operation, he took his
loot to Costain area of Lagos and kept them with a friend.

He said,

“I
was very broke because I could not get any work from my customers.
While I was thinking about the way out, it occurred to me that I could
steal. I decided to go to somewhere far from where I live.

“On
January 28, at night, I went to a complex at ‘Agbado under bridge’ and
burgled a boutique. I broke the ceiling to enter the store. I stole
several trousers and jerseys and ran away. I took them to my friend’s
shop in Costain area of Lagos. I was thinking of how to sell them.”

He said when he could not find buyers for the items, he took some of them to Ibrahim, a tea seller in Agbado last Tuesday.

Olanrewaju
explained that he was strategising on how to market the clothes without
running into trouble until it was dark. He said he was stranded and
decided to pass the night outside a shop.

He said, “As
I wanted to sleep, a vigilante shone the torchlight on me. I ran to
hide somewhere. The man alerted other vigilantes and I was caught. They
asked me what I was doing outside at night and I told them I was
stranded. They were not satisfied with my response and they threatened
to kill me if I did not say the truth. That was why I decided to tell
them about the crime.

“They beat me up and took me to the
police station. I mentioned Ibrahim and the police arrested him. He did
not know that I stole the clothes.” Asked if he had been involved in
the crime in the past, Olanrewaju stated that he was exposed to the act
by his cousin while he was living in Benin Republic, where his father
hailed from.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the suspect would soon be charged to court.