An Abuja home of former President Goodluck Jonathan has been burgled. However, in what appears a curious twist, the house was not burgled by known thieves, but by police officers assigned to guard the house. The Nigeria Police have thus arrested three of its officers for stealing items valued at several millions of naira from the Abuja residence of the former president.
The items were alleged to have been stolen by the officers from the residence located at No. 89, Fourth Avenue in the Gwarimpa district of Abuja.
They include sets of furniture, dozens of plasma television sets, refrigerators, air-conditioner units and box-loads of clothes such as designer suits imprinted with the former president’s name, male and female Ijaw traditional attires, lace materials and bowler hats.
PREMIUM TIMES exclusively gathered that the three mobile police officers conducted a systematic looting over a period of three months beginning from around March 2016, until they totally stripped the house of all movable items, which they sold piecemeal to dealers at the Panteka second-hand materials market in Tipper Garage, Gwarimpa.
Mr. Jonathan’s spokesperson, Ikechukwu Eze, confirmed the theft to PREMIUM TIMES. He also confirmed that the affected officers have been arrested.
According to a security source involved in the investigation, by the time family members of the former president were made aware of the looting early this month, the house had been stripped bare.
On getting wind of the arrest of the policemen, two dealers who had been the main recipients of the stolen items were said to have closed down their shops at Panteka market and have since remained at large.
Mr. Jonathan had lived in the house for about a year when he was vice president. His mother was said to have assumed residence there after Mr. Jonathan moved to the Aso Rock Villa upon becoming Acting President in 2010.
PREMIUM TIMES could not ascertain when and the reason Mr. Jonathan’s mother vacated the residence, leaving it under security guard of the police.
THE LOOTING
Our investigations revealed that the looting was discovered when a neighbour noticed “severe damage to the house” and called a member of Mr. Jonathan’s family to ask whether the house was undergoing renovation.
The former president was said to have personally gone to inspect the property after which he reported the vandalization to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.
After a team of officers dispatched to the scene confirmed the crime, Mr. Idris was said to have ordered the arrest of the three police officers who were still on guard duty at the residence.
“They were arrested about two weeks ago,” the police source familiar with the development told this newspaper last Tuesday.
A trader at the Panteka market, who confessed to being close to one of the fleeing buyers of the stolen items, was interviewed by PREMIUM TIMES undercover reporter.
According to the trader who declined to be named, the police officers first brought some items to the market for sale in early 2016.
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the spokesperson of the Police FCT Command, Mamza Anjuguri, on phone, he refused to confirm the alleged looting or arrest of the three policemen.
“You should give me time to make some inquiries,” he initially pleaded last week.
He subsequently did not pick the reporter’s calls or reply to his text messages.
The divisional police officer for Gwarimpa also declined to speak with our reporter.
“I cannot talk to the press. You can go and talk with our PPRO,” he said.
LIST OF CLOTHES SAID TO HAVE BEEN STOLEN AND SOLD
1. Niger Delta traditional attires in about 20 Ghana-must-go sacks.
2. Suits, each one with “President Jonathan” inscribed in the inner side, in five big Ghana-must-go sacks.
3. About 10 big Ghana-must-go sacks of women attires made from lace materials sewn in Niger Delta style.
4. More than 10 bundles of Ankara materials, known as Atamfa.
5. About 10 sets of babban riga.
6. One big Ghana-must-go sack containing clothes with PDP logo neatly sewn on each one.
7. About 20 Niger Delta bowler hats.
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES AND FURNITURE ITEMS
1. 36 Plasma televisions.
2. About 25 refrigerators.
3. Five sets of furniture.
4. Two sets of sitting room chairs.
5. Several air conditioner units.
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