28-year-old man, Olamilekan Olaoluwa, was arrested by policemen from the Iponri division after breaking into a home in the Ebute-Meta area of Lagos State. He allegedly broke into the home on Brickfield Road on Sunday around 2pm, stole some clothes, wristwatches and some other valuables.
Then he went into the kitchen and took a can of malt from the fridge to drink, unfortunately for him, the owner of the home walked in on him and raised the alarm which drew the attention of residents who beat up the suspect before handing him over to the police.
Olaoluwa, who claimed to have spent six years to train as a plumber, said he did not have a job and was homeless.
He said:
“I am a secondary school dropout. I do not have a permanent place of abode, but I sometimes sleep in the Oko Baba Sawmill in Ebute-Meta.
“I don’t always steal from people. On Sunday, November 22, around 2pm, I was passing by when I saw that the gate was slightly opened and that made it easy for me to enter.
“I broke the padlock and entered the sitting room where I removed the Plasma TV. I then entered the bedroom and took the woman’s husband underwears and wristwatches.
“I also took the handset and the TV’s remote control. I opened the fridge and took a can of malt and drank it. I was going downstairs when I saw the woman. She asked who I was and what I was doing in her house.
“I asked her not to shout, but she shouted and people came inside the house.”
The police said the suspect was arrested with the Plasma TV valued at N150,000; two wristwatches valued at N50,000; underwear estimated at N10,000; a mobile phone valued at N5,000, adding that everything summed up to N215,000.
The Investigating Police Officer, Chukwuocha Augustine, arraigned the suspect on Tuesday before an Ebute-Meta Magistrates’ Court on four counts of burglary, malicious damage, breach of the public peace and stealing.
The defendant pleaded guilty to all the charges.
The Magistrate, Mrs. O.O.A. Fowowe-Erusiafe, ruled that Olaoluwa be remain in prison custody.
She adjourned the case till November 30 for facts and sentence.
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