Police Nabs 11 Kid Robbers

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Katsina, has promised to rehabilitate 11 kid robbers arrested in the state capital on June 15.

According the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the kid robbers were arrested as the state’s police chief  initiated efforts to maintain a crime-free environment.

Katsina  noted that some kid robbers between the age of 12 and 14 were arrested for allegedly robbing a house in Challenge Area of Ibadan. It was learnt that they carted away the sum of N11,000 in the operation.

He said, “Based on information, the Anti-Robbery Squad of the command was sent out immediately and they were surprised to see kids of 12 and 14 years of age coming out to make confessional statements.

”The police chief  said
he was concerned about the plights of the kids that took to robbing noting that their activities could be linked poor parental care and poverty.

“Most of these children are from broken homes and I wish parents can learn from the plight of these kids and take proper care of their children.

“One thing that keeps disturbing me is the voluntary narration and sincerity of the kids. They have no shelter of any sort and to them, their future starts and ends on the bridge.

“Their only means of livelihood is to savage innocent members of the public, be involved in pick pocketing, robbery and related criminal activities,” he lamented.

Katsina further stated majority of the kid robbers were not Nigerians but children from neigbouring Benin Republic who have sought for greener pasture in Nigeria.

He revealed that one of the 11 kid robbers, a 12-year-old boy, was apprehended in Ogbomoso in a robbery-related incident.

“In the course of the arrest, he led us to six other members of his group, where four of them were minors and the two others adults.

“The boy is from Kwara State, as we got to know from his confession. He confessed that his father was living happily with his mother until he married a second wife.

“As a result of that, there was a problem and the mother moved out with the kid robber and relocated to Ogbomoso.”  He said.

 taking care of the 11 arrested kids adding that Oyo state Governor Abiola Ajimobi had pledged to assist in the rehabilitation of the minors.

“When I spoke with him, he said that there were rehabilitation centres in Ibadan, where the kids would be provided with basic care amenities. The governor also said that the state government would assist to provide job opportunities for unemployed youths in the state at the newly-inaugurated Waste-to-Energy projects.”

The police boss advised parents to monitor the activities and movement of their kids so that they would not take to crime.