Meet grandfather of 3 who is also a cable thief (photo)

Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) unit have arrested some cable thieves

A grandfather of three was among the arrested thieves

Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) unit of the Lagos state police command have arrested two suspects linked to the vandalisation of cable and transformer.

The two suspects were identified as a 54-year-old Oladele Elegbede and a 25-year-old Andrew Onoriode. Operatives in Dopemu and Alausa area of the state arrested the suspects with cable and transformer earth.

Elegbede, a trained electrician, is a father of three. The 54-year-old man was arrested while he was tampering with a transformer. Prior to the incident, he had stolen cables around the transformer leaving the residents of the community in total darkness.


The cable thieves arrested by RRS operatives.


Upon being probed, the elderly man confessed to the crime by saying he tampers with cables whenever he is broke. He then said he sold the vandalized cables in railway crossing over seven times in the confession he made.

“The last cable I sold weighed 1 kilo. I was paid N1500. I sold it at Oju Irin Pen Cinema. The one I just cut can fetch me N1300.”

The second thief on the other hand said he was a casual staff of the Nigerian Bottling Company in Agidingbi, Ikeja. He was caught with an armoured cable suspected to belong to Lagos state Ministry of Works.

The cable was said to have been taken from the cables supplying power to some buildings around the secretariat.