By Mujidat Oyewole
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested a scavenger for allegedly stealing kitchen utensils in the process of scavenging.
The Command’s Spokesman, Mr Babawale Afolabi, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, said that some members of Ayekale community in Ogidi area of Ilorin took the suspect to NSCDC headquarters in Ilorin.
Afolabi said that on April 4, around 7 p.m., five men from Ayekale community took the suspect to the investigation unit of the command for being in possession of kitchen utensils, suspected to have been stolen.
He said that the suspect confessed to buying the items from some people at cheap prices.
“The State Commandant, Makinde Ayinla, has ordered that investigation be conducted and the suspect be prosecuted accordingly,” he said.
Speaking with NAN, the suspect said that he had been scavenging for some years, adding that he was married with three kids.
He also said that he was from Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara and that he had been in Ilorin for the past three months, scavenging.
The suspect further stated that some ‘unknown men’ saw him scavenging around Ogidi area and ‘forcefully’ sold the kitchen utensils to him.
“They asked if I was interested in buying kitchen utensils and I said yes, but when they requested for N10,000, I told them that I was no longer interested.
“They beat me and collected all the N7,000 in my pocket and left, leaving behind the kitchen utensils.
“On my way home, I saw a man driving by and he stopped to ask me what I was carrying.
“In the process of explaining to him, four other men came around and took me to the office of Civil Defence,” he said. (NAN)
