Guard nabbed for theft of cement at construction site

Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State police command have arrested a pick-up driver who specializes in buying stolen construction materials from site workers in Lekki area of Lagos and resell them.

The suspect, Hassan Abubakar, 32, was arrested while driving a white pick-up van with a registration number KRD-474BQ loaded with 21 bags of cement at about 5:30a.m on Saturday by RRS officers on patrol.

Hassan, when quizzed on how he got the 21 bags of cement lied that he was a haulage driver contracted by a civil engineer working in MTN Estate, Lekki Phase 2, to help him convey the cement from one construction site to another.

The officers, who were not satisfied with his explanation, insisted Hassan should call the site manager to buttress his point. Sensing the game was up, he stopped responding to further enquiries put to him by the officers.

Not convinced by the excuse, Hassan and the exhibits were handed over to the Decoy Team of the RRS where investigations revealed that the suspect, in collusion with a site guard bought the stolen bags cement at a construction site in Lekki.

The security guard, Adamu Ibrahim, 43 disclosed to the police that he stole the cement from the construction site, and that the owner of the site was based in the United States. Adamu further told the police that the owner of the site engaged him to live there and secure the site. He added that he had been selling the materials meant for construction on the site to Hassan.

He added that his boss defaulted in paying his N25,000 salary for about three months, hence, in order to discharge his family obligations, he had to raise money by selling the construction materials.

“I have spent all my little savings in buying clothes for my wife during the Eid-el-Fitri, so I am broke and needed money to feed my family, which pushed me into selling the 21 bags of cement to Hassan who I know specializes in buying stolen site materials in the area at the rate of N1,500 per bag on credit. He promised to pay me N31,500 by noon.”