A driver, Solomon Okon, who absconded with his boss’ Honda CRV Sport Utility Vehicle in Ibadan, has been arrested in Akwa Ibom State.
The Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, Abiodun Odude, made this known while parading suspects arrested in connection with various crimes by men of the command.
Odude said, “Having successfully stolen the car, the suspect (Okon) escaped with it to Akwa Ibom State, where it was sold to a criminal receiver.
“Consequent upon the report made to the police by the owner of the stolen car, operatives of the F-SARS, Oyo State Police Command, immediately commenced investigation, which led to the arrest of the suspect in his criminal hideout in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State. Upon his arrest, the suspect led the operatives to a hotel in the same town, where the car was recovered.”
According to the police boss, discreet findings revealed that some sensitive materials of one of the leading political parties in the country were found in the SUV when it was recovered.
The owner of the vehicle, Mrs Olufunke Obaba, explained in an interview that Okon was employed as her driver on September 18, 2018, and by October 15, he drove her to the University College Hospital, Ibadan, for a check-up.
Obaba stated, “We got there around 8.30am. He parked and I entered the hospital. About two and half hours later, I came back and my car wasn’t where it was parked. I called his numbers, none was going through. Then, I called my husband and told him to come and pick me. He came and took me back to the office.
“I thought he(Okon) just drove the car out to enjoy himself and that he would bring it back. But between 3pm and 4pm, we felt we needed to report to the police. So, we went to the Yemetu Police Station in Ibadan, where we reported the disappearance of the driver and the car, and the police took it up from there.
“The following day, the station directed us to the office of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad at Dugbe, Ibadan, with a letter and a policeman. We got there and they started their job.”
Though Obaba, who owns a nursery and primary school in the vicinity of one of the military barracks in Ibadan, stated that she got the driver through an agent, investigation revealed that a soldier stood as a guarantor for Okon, who committed the alleged crime before his first salary could be paid.
After driving away with the car, the tracker on the vehicle showed that he was at a time in Ijebu Ode in Ogun State, and the last time the vehicle was captured on the tracker was at Igbokoda, Ondo State, before it resurfaced in Akwa Ibom State.
It was gathered that detectives travelled from Ibadan to Akwa Ibom State three times before they could apprehend the suspect.
In an interview with journalists, Okon confessed to the crime and appealed to the police to forgive him.