Ibadan court jails vigilantes for looting crash victim’s car

DDM News

Ibadan Nigeria – A Grade A Customary Court in the Mapo area of Ibadan has sentenced two vigilante officers to prison for looting a crash victim’s car.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) reports that the officers, Kenneth Agwazin and Ayuba Pojti, were convicted on Tuesday after pleading guilty to conspiracy and stealing.

Presiding Judge, Mrs. S.M. Akintayo, delivered a firm ruling, sentencing both men to two years’ imprisonment, one year for each charge, to run consecutively.

The court considered their status as first-time offenders and their guilty plea, which saved judicial time. However, the judge stressed that their betrayal of public trust as security agents demanded serious consequences.

A third defendant, Tomiwa Akinsola, who pleaded not guilty, was granted bail in the sum of ₦200,000. The bail conditions include two reliable sureties of the same amount.

The prosecution, led by Inspector Ayodele Ayeni, narrated the incident, which took place around 2 a.m. on December 23, 2024, beneath the Asi-Bodija bridge in Ibadan.

According to Ayeni, the vigilantes, alongside others still at large, broke into the vehicle of one Tade Suara shortly after a road accident.

At the time of the theft, Suara was reportedly away from the scene, transporting his injured relatives to the hospital.

Items stolen from the vehicle included 19 rim tyres valued at ₦150,000, a JPG speaker worth ₦450,000, and gold jewellery estimated at ₦600,000.

Other stolen items were gift packages worth ₦200,000, a toolbox valued at ₦150,000, a manual jack priced at ₦15,000, and an electric water dispenser also worth ₦15,000.

The total value of the stolen property was placed at approximately ₦1.13 million.

Inspector Ayeni told the court that the defendants’ actions violated Sections 516 and 390(9) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 38, Vol. II, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.

The judgment has since sparked discussions around the ethics of community policing and the need for tighter oversight of local vigilante groups in Oyo State and beyond.

Legal analysts say the swift sentencing sends a message that abuse of authority, even by informal security agents, will not be tolerated under Nigerian law.

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