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The Edo State Police Command has arrested 16 suspects over alleged offences including the defilement of a minor, kidnapping, vandalism, fraud and illegal possession of firearms.
Among those arrested is a 42-year-old man, Oji Okoro, who the police accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy.
The suspects were paraded in Benin City by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Eno Ikoedem, who said Okoro was being investigated for an alleged unnatural offence involving the minor.
Ikoedem said, “This man, Oji Okoro, committed an unnatural offence; he defiled a 12-year-old boy.”
Also arrested were Donatus Martins, 26, and an associate, who were accused of stealing cables and other equipment from the premises of Africa Independent Television in Benin.
The police alleged that the pair had repeatedly burgled the facility since the television station stopped operating, carting away equipment estimated at more than N4m.
Martins, who identified himself as a bricklayer, reportedly admitted participating in the thefts, saying he and his associate sold the materials to raise money whenever construction jobs were unavailable.
Another suspect, Chigozie Anthony, was arrested over an alleged kidnapping scheme involving a girl he reportedly met on TikTok.
The police alleged that Anthony took the girl to his residence and demanded N500,000 from her parents, who reportedly paid the money before his arrest.
Anthony, however, disputed the allegation, claiming that the girl was his girlfriend and that the entire incident was planned by both of them.
He claimed the girl had told him she needed money after completing her nursing training and suggested that he hide her so that her family would provide the funds.
“I hid her and demanded N500,000, which the parents paid,” he reportedly said.
The command also paraded Ajayi Godwin over alleged unlawful possession of firearms in Auchi, while Akinla Lawrence and another suspect were arrested for alleged pipeline vandalism in the Okada area of Ovia North-East Local Government Area.
The police said investigations were continuing into the cases and that suspects found culpable would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
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