EXTRA: ‘Fleeing Imo inmate’ arrested for ‘stealing SIM card’ in Lagos

The Lagos police command says it has arrested one Oyemachi Maduabuchi, identified as a suspect who escaped from the Owerri correctional centre in Imo state.

On April 5, the correctional centre and the police command headquarters in Owerri were attacked by gunmen, and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) had said 1,844 inmates escaped from the facility.

According to the police, Maduabuchi was arrested for allegedly stealing a SIM card and memory devices in Lagos.

He is said to have fled from Owerri to Anambra on April 5, and later moved to Lagos on April 19, following the invitation of his elder sister.

At his elder sister’s house in Lagos, the suspect was said to have been taken to Bride Assembly Church, located in Ijesha axis of Lagos, for special deliverance service.

During one of the deliverance services on April 20, the suspect allegedly stole SIM card and memory devices belonging to one of the church members.

The alleged theft led to his arrest by police officers in Lagos and the stolen items were said to have been recovered.

“The suspect, who fled Owerri that same day, 5th April, 2021, moved to his village, Fegge in Onitsha, Anambra State, to meet his mother who later linked him up with his elder sister, Amarachi Maduabuchi, f, of Customs bus-stop, Ijegun, Lagos,” Muyiwa Adejobi, police spokesperson, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The sister thereafter invited him to Lagos on 19th April, 2021. The suspect was kept in the sister’s house where she used to lead him to church for special deliverance service.

“In the process, after the night vigil on 20th April, 2021, at Bride Assembly Church, Ijesha area of Lagos state, the suspect allegedly stole the SIM and the memory cards of a member (name withheld) of the church before he was eventually arrested and the stolen items recovered from him.

“In the course of Police investigation, it was revealed that the suspect has been standing trial since 2009 for conspiracy, armed robbery and arson before Justice Nna Amadi of Ngbidi high court 1, at Ngbidi in Imo State.”