8th April, 2019
By Paul Iyoghojie
An 18-year old cook, Samuel Joshua, who had been on the run since 10 January, 2019 after stealing the sum of N.5m belonging to his employer, Bishop Samuel Olakunle Ajani at his residence in Ikota area of Ajah, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria has been arrested in Delta State and brought back to Lagos.
A Police source alleged that the suspect was tracked and arrested by the Police from Ajah Division, Ajah, Lagos following a complaint by the suspect’s employer.
Police alleged that trouble started for the teenager when the complainant reported to the Police that he went to the bank with the suspect to withdraw the sum of N500,000 and kept the money inside his room to solve some domestic problems, but that he was shocked he could not find the money where he kept it the following day and that he suspected his cook to have stolen the money.
Following the report, the Divisional Police Officer , DPO in charge of Ajah Division, Lagos directed his men to fish out the cook and the police, after several days of intelligence gathering tracked the cook to his family house in Delta State and arrested him and brought him back to Lagos.
During investigation, the suspect allegedly confessed to the crime and stated: “I stole the money and handed it over to one Mike I met on the Facebook who introduced me to online business transactions at a Hotel in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State, but I was shocked that Mike abandoned me in the Hotel and fled after collecting the money from
me. I am now begging the police to help me plead with my boss to forgive me because he was nice to me,” Joshua allegedly stated.
Joshua was charged before the Igbosere Magistrate Court on a one count of stealing.
The offence, police counsel, Reuben Solomon said, was contrary to section 280 and punishable under section 289(7) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the alleged crime in the court and Magistrate A.M Davies granted him bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.
Davies adjourned the case till 24 April, 2019 for mention and ordered that the defendant be kept at the Ikoyi Prison till he fulfilled the bail conditions.