Police arrests licensing officers for registration of stolen vehicle

Operatives attached to the Eziama Police Station in Aba, Abia State arrested two vehicle licensing officials, Innocent Ogboonna and Ikechukwu Goodness, while allegedly attempting to register a stolen vehicle.

A statement by the state Abia State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Anthony Ogbizi, which was made available to Southern City News, indicated that the vehicle, a Toyota Highlander, with registration number KUT 18 CA, was allegedly snatched from one Obiageli Orizu at Nnewi in Anambra State at gunpoint in 2016.

Ogbizi stated that the car thieves brought the vehicle to Aba and sold it to one Allwell Izunwa of Owaza Asa in the Ukwa West Local Government Area of the state with fake documents.

He disclosed that at the point of effecting change of ownership with the fake documents at a Motor Licensing Office in the Ariaria area of Aba, Ogboonna and Goodness, both workers of the licensing office, discovered that the documents were forged and the vehicle was stolen from its owner.

He added that instead of alerting the police, the officials informed the receiver of the stolen car to run away.

The police commissioner said, “It was based on a tip-off that police operatives swung into action recovered the vehicle and arrested the suspects.

“Efforts are in progress to arrest other members of the gang at large.”

In a related development, a patrol team from Ndiegoro Police Station has recovered one Toyota Lexus 300 SUV with registration number KJA 769 DW, allegedly snatched from a victim identified only as Francis at Obohia in Aba.

It was gathered that the yet-to-be-identified car snatchers used the car for a robbery operation and abandoned it after the operation.

Items recovered from the vehicle included the sum of N100,000 belonging to the victim and two mobile phones as well as two live and one shell of AK47 ammunition.

Also policemen from the Central Police Station in Aba recovered one Toyota Hiace bus with registration number GDD 695 YE snatched from its owner at gunpoint on Aba-Owerri Road.

It was learnt that the driver of the bus had complained to police officers on a stop-and-search duty at Eziukwu Junction that four armed robbers had snatched his bus from him.

It was gathered that the policemen swung into action and intercepted the suspects, who abandoned the vehicle on sighting the patrol team at Ama-Ogbonna area and escaped.

The police commissioner said efforts were on to arrest all the suspects who were at large.