Five people arrested for stealing public property in Enugu

The Police Command in Enugu State has arrested five people in three separate operations for vandalism and stealing public property.

The stolen items included a solar streetlight, road traffic signs, and materials from the Enugu State Water Corporation.

This information comes from a statement by the Command’s spokesperson, SP Daniel Ndukwe, on Monday in Enugu.

Mr Ndukwe, who is a superintendent of police, said that on 27 September at around 8:30 p.m., the police got a tip-off about two men trying to sell stolen solar streetlights at a scrap yard in Enugu. The police quickly went to the location and arrested the suspects.

Their arrest led to the recovery of the stolen solar streetlight. The police then detained both men for theft.

“During questioning, the suspects admitted to stealing and vandalising the solar streetlight earlier that day at Graceland Estate, Independence Layout, Enugu,” he said.

On 24 September at about 3:34 a.m., police operatives from the Abakaliki Road division acted on an emergency alert from the state Command-and-Control Centre. They arrested a suspect who was removing traffic signs.

“The suspect and another person, who ran away, were caught by the security surveillance system while taking the road traffic signs.

“Several damaged road signs with different inscriptions were recovered from the suspect,” he said.

In another operation on 15 September, the command’s Violent Crime Response Unit, working with members of the Neighbourhood Watch Group, arrested two men.

“The two are accused of planning to vandalise and steal materials from the state water corporation. A bag with iron materials, bolts, and nuts that were allegedly stolen from the corporation was found with them,” he said.

Mr Ndukwe mentioned that efforts are still on to catch other people involved who are still free.

He quoted the Commissioner of Police, Mamman Giwa, who praised the police and the Neighbourhood Watch members for acting quickly. Their response led to the arrest of the suspects and the recovery of the stolen items.

The commissioner asked the public to keep providing timely and reliable information about activities that could harm public property and security.