The Punch reports that a syndicate that specialises in stealing livestock in Akure, Ondo State, has been smashed by the Ondo State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. According to the corps, the gang usually attacked areas where there are large flock of sheep and goats and steal them at midnight.
While parading two members of the syndicate on Thursday, the Commandant, Mr. Andrew Ugwumba, said the suspects, Agagu Seun and Adedipe Gbenga, used motorcycles to get away as soon as they snatched the animals. He said residents had been complaining that all their domestic animals had been stolen at the point when they were just maturing and ready to be sold.
But on October 14, the suspects were arrested by civil defence men during a failed attempt to snatch a goat. Seun, who is a painter, said he took to stealing because he was not making enough money from his job. He, however, denied being a serial livestock thief, saying it was his first outing.
But his partner, Adedipe, who claimed to be an okada rider, said he was not aware that the goat was stolen, as his friend told him he was going to help him pick up a goat he had bought. Asked if he thought it wise to help someone pick a goat at 3am, without raising suspicion of being a thief, he replied, “I did not know that he stole the goat, I only waited on the road with my bike.”
Ugwumba said the suspects would be charged to court at the close of investigations.