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I vandalised transformer because I had no money on me – Suspect
- as RRS nabs cable, transformer vandals in Lagos
By OKOSUN DENNIS
Nemesis caught up with some notorious vandals who specialised in vandalizing cable and transformers in Lagos as they were apprehended by the police.
In a separate incidences on Saturday, operatives of Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command arrested two suspects.
The suspects, identified as Oladele Elegbede, 54, and Andrew Onoriode, 25, were said to have been arrested early in the morning in Dopemu and Alausa area of the State with vandalised cable and transformer earth.
Elegbede, a grandfather of three and a trained electrician, was arrested early on Saturday in Dopemu after vandalising transformer cables about 4:37 a.m.
National Daily gathered that the Ilaro born man, from Ogun State, was said to have also stolen cables around the transformer, about a week again leading up to power outage in the entire community.
Confirming that the suspects has been behind the vandalization, some residents of the area, who followed Elegbede to RRS Headquarters in Alausa, alleged that he was the one responsible for the serial vandalization of the transformer cable in their community.
RRS revealed that Elegbede, was caught with a cutting pliers. He, however, confessed that he vandalised cables whenever he had no money on him. He added that he had sold vandalised cables at the Railway Crossing more than seven times to scrap metal dealers.
Elegbede confessed: “I was arrested about 5:00 a.m. I went to vandalise that transformer.
I was there last week. I cut cable whenever I am out of cash. I have three grandchildren and my wife is dead. The last cable I sold weighed one kilo. I was paid N1,500. I sold it at Oju Irin Pen Cinema. The one I just cut can fetch me N1,300.”
According to a scrap metal dealer who the suspect fingered as his buyer, Abdulsamod Yau, “I have bought cable from him (Elegbede) about seven times.”
However, the second suspect Onoriode, National Daily learnt was a casual staff of Nigerian Bottling Company, Agidingbi plant in Ikeja. He was arrested behind Shoprite Ikeja with a freshly cut armoured cable believed to belong to the Lagos State Ministry of Works.
It was further gathered that the cable was cut from the network supplying powers to some of the buildings around the Secretariat.
The two suspects have been transferred to the Lagos State Task Force for further investigation and prosecution.