How Was Artisan Was Nabbed For Stealing Dead Herbalist’s TV, Cooking Pots

A 24-year-old bricklayer named Adedapo Ayobami, residing in the Oja Oba area of Osogbo, Osun State, has been arrested on suspicion of breaking into the residence of an unnamed herbalist. He stands accused of pilfering electronic devices and kitchenware from the premises.

The suspect was reportedly arrested by the operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Osun State Command around the Osunjela community during a routine patrol.

In a release signed by the spokesperson for the command, Kehinde Adeleke, in Osogbo on Wednesday, the Osun NSCDC Commandant, Dr. Michael Adaralewa, while giving further details about the circumstances surrounding the arrest of the suspect, said Ayobami in his confessional statement explained that before his death, the herbalist had given him a spiritual soap meant to improve his (Ayobami’s) financial status.

Ayobami also informed the investigators that the herbalist told him he would be collecting the spiritual soap every month, adding that he collected for April and went back to collect the one for May, when he was told the herbalist had passed on.

It further read in parts, “The suspect was arrested on Thursday, May 23, 2024, in the afternoon, at the Osunjela area, Osun State by the NSCDC personnel who were on patrol in the area.

In his confessional statement, the suspect said that before the owner of the house died, he was a herbalist and he gave him a traditional soap to improve his financial status.

“He said the herbalist told him he would be collecting the traditional soap every month. He went to the herbalist’s house to collect the soap for May, but on getting there, he was told the herbalist had died. He went home disappointed.

“The following day, Thursday, May 23, he went to the herbalist’s house, checked where he used to keep his key while alive, opened the door and carted away Plasma television, cooking utensils, Solar panel, bulbs, two different cable decoders and other household items.

“The suspect disclosed that he intended to sell the stolen items to unsuspecting members of the public.”

Adaralewa, who said even though some people in the neighbourhood where the crime was committed saw the suspect carrying some of the stolen items, they did not challenge him.

He enjoined members of the public to be security conscious, urging them to ask questions and report strange movements in their environment to security agencies in the state, noting that the suspect would be taken to court after the investigation had been concluded.

The Osun NSCDC had on Wednesday, May 15, said its operatives had arrested and recovered four motorcycles from a suspected serial motorcycle snatcher, Wahab Saburi, in Ede town.