A magistrate court sitting in Ilaro area of Ogun state have convicted two persons for stealing armoured cable at the Dangote Cement factory in Ibese.
The two culprits, Hussain Waziri, and Mustapha Aliyu, were arrested by officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), during a routine beat patrol operations at the cement factory outpost station.
The judge, M T Otayemi Osikoya having taken their guilty plea, convicted the culprits on a two count charges of conspiracy to steal and stealing of armoured cable belonging to Dangote Cement Company.
He therefore sentenced the defendants to one year jail term on each of the count charges of conspiracy to steal and stealing. The term is to run concurrently on each of the two count charges.
Reacting on the arrest and subsequent conviction, the Ogun state Commandant of NSCDC, Commandant David Idowu Ojelabi, mni reiterated the commitment of the corps to protection of critical infrastructure and ensuring that crime is stamped out of the state and Nigeria at large.
He narrated that, the arrested gangs who are serial cable thieves allegedly conspired, jumped over the perimeter fence and accessed the (DCP-I) Cable yard within the Power Plant, with the intent to commit a crime.
“At approximately 0336Hours, during the routine patrol at the Power Plant duty post, the NSCDC armed personnel sighted Mustapha Aliyu and Hussein Waziri while committing the heinous crime.
“The suspects violently engaged the security personnel with dangerous tools in order to escape arrest. Mustapha Aliyu was overpowered and eventually arrested while, Hussein Waziri escaped with the stolen cable.
“Unfortunately for him, the NSCDC personnel conducted an intelligence based “search and arrest” operation and at about 0436Hours of same night, Hussein Waziri who had earlier escaped from the scene where he carted away the Special armored electrical cable was rearrested, within the geofencing of the Dangote Cement Transport [DCT-I ] by the alerted NSCDC personnel assisted by the Dangote Security guards.
“The Convicts were transfered to the NSCDC State Headquarters for thorough investigation and prosecution. They confessed to committing the crime, before being charged to court”, he said
