The suspects, Paul Niwa, 47-year old, and Michael Odunayo.
An hotelier who is in the habit of buying stolen vehicles and butchering them to be resold in parts has been nabbed by the police in Shagamu, Ogun State.
The hotelier, Paul Niwa, 47-year old was arrested with one Michael Odunayo, a mechanic for stealing a bus belonging to A&G Logistics Transport Company, Shagamu.
The two suspects were arrested following a report lodged at Ewu-Oliwo Divisional Headquarters, Shagamu on the 21st of April 2023,by one Anifowose Kazeem, who reported that he is the driver in-charge of a T4 Volkswagen bus with registration number AAB 22 XB, and that while driving the said vehicle from Abeokuta towards Shagamu at about 1 a.m, of the date, the vehicle developed a mechanical fault at Shagamu interchange, which made him to park it by the roadside with the intention of coming with a mechanic in the morning to fix it.
But surprisingly, when he got to the scene the following morning, the bus was no longer there and all efforts to find it proved abortive.
According to SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the Police Public Relations Officer for Ogun State Police Command, the report prompted the DPO Ewu-Oliwo Division, CSP Toyosi Bello to detail detectives to unravel those behind the disappearance of the said vehicle.
The detectives, who embarked on technical and intelligence based investigation were able to trace the missing vehicle to the compound of A@Z Hotel at Elediye village, Shagamu, where the vehicle had already been butchered into pieces to be resold in parts.
The owner of the hotel, Paul Niwa was there and then arrested and taken to custody.
His arrest led to the apprehension of the second suspect, 27-year old Michael Odunayo who on interrogation, confessed to the police that he and one Eri Adeyemi, now at large towed the vehicle away from where it was parked at about 2 a.m and took it to Paul Niwa, who happened to be a regular buyer of such stolen vehicle and he bought it at the rate of three hundred thousand naira.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Paul Niwa is a serial receiver of stolen vehicles, which he used to dismantle and sell in pieces.
Meanwhile, the acting Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, DCP Babakura Muhammed, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to State Criminal Investigation Departments for further investigation.
He had also directed that the fleeing member of the gang, Eri Adeyemi be hunted down and brought to book.
