 |
| The suspects |
A guard, Adamu Ibrahim, has alleged that he sold his boss’ properties to cover the three months salary he owed him.
Ibrahim, 43, was picked up after Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives arrested Hassan Abubakar, the pick-up driver he sold his boss’ cement to.
In a statement yesterday, RRS said Abubakar specialised in buying stolen construction materials from site workers in Lekki, Lagos.
Abubakar was arrested while driving a white pick-up van marked KRD-474BQ loaded with 21 bags of cement around 5:30 a.m on Saturday by patrolling RRS men.
When quizzed, Hassan claimed that he was a haulage driver contracted by an engineer working in MTN Estate in Lekki Phase 2 to convey the cement to a construction site.
The officers asked Hassan to call the site manager to buttress his point.
Hassan and the exhibits were handed over to the Decoy Team of the RRS. Investigations revealed that the suspect, in connivance with a site guard bought the cement at a construction site in Lekki.
Ibrahim told the police that he stole the cement from a construction site, adding that the owner was based in the United States.
Adamu added that the site owner engaged him to man the site. According to him, Hassan has been buying the construction materials.
He said his boss defaulted in paying his N25,000 salary for about three months, adding that, in order to discharge his family obligations, he had to raise money by selling the construction materials.
He said: “I have spent all my little savings in buying cloth materials for my wife during the festival, so I am broke and I needed money to feed my family which pushed me into selling the 21 bags of cement to Hassan who I know specialises in buying stolen site materials in the area at the rate of N1,500 per bag on credit while he promised to pay me N31,500 by noon. I invited Hassan to come to see the cement and he agreed to come to convey them in the early hours of the next day. In the morning, he came around 4:30am, and he alongside Bukari Muhammad loaded the cement into his pick-up van and drove off.
“My boss is owing me N75,000 as salary arrears, I thought selling the cement won’t be a bad idea as the move would help save them from getting spoilt,” he added.
The suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigative Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, for further investigation.
