2 days ago
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Two security guards, Segun Sodiya and Segun Abatan, from the Agura Sabo area of Sagamu, Ogun State, are currently in the custody of the police for allegedly setting a 44-year-old man, Basiru Aliu, ablaze.
PUNCH Metro exclusively learnt from the state police command on Tuesday that the suspects mistook the victim for a thief when he approached a compound they were guarding.
Aliu was reportedly helping his employer, Fatai Ifekoya, move belongings from his former residence to a new site in Ijokun at around 7 a.m. on Monday.
While carrying out the task early on Monday, Aliu was said to have been violently attacked by Sodiya and Abatan, security guards employed by one of the residents, Kingsley Nwabueze.
The duo allegedly poured a flammable substance on Aliu and set him on fire, believing he was trying to steal the items he was transporting for his employer.
The spokesperson for the state police command, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the suspects’ arrest and told PUNCH Metro that the victim’s employer, Ifekoya, immediately went to the police station to report the incident.
She said, “Officers from the Division Crime Office and a patrol team responded immediately,” adding that the victim was rescued and taken to the Royal Cottage Hospital, Agura Sabo, “where he is currently receiving treatment and responding well.”
Odutola added that the security guards had been taken into custody and would be prosecuted for attempted murder once the investigation at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department in Abeokuta is completed.
She warned all the residents to refrain from taking the law into their own hands and report suspicious activities to the police instead of resorting to violence.
Meanwhile, PUNCH Metro reported a similar incident on December 23, 2024, when Sarah Ayinde set her husband, Abidemi Ayinde, a special constable with the Ogun State Police Command, ablaze in the Iperu area of the state.
The suspect fled the scene and is still on the run after committing the crime.
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