Operatives of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have arrested a chief priest, Mr Etim Udom, and two other suspects for vandalizing the outpost of the NSCDC in Akpabuyo local government area of Cross River State.
Parading the suspects in Calabar, at civil defence state headquarters , the Cross River State public relations officer of NSCDC, Mr Solomon Eremi, stated that the suspects committed the act two weeks ago.
Eremi, stated that despite warning by the command’s commandant, Mr Samuel Fadeyi, that the corps would leave no stone unturned to apprehend criminals who were in the habit of vandalizing public property, the suspects defied the commandant’s warning.
He stated that the suspects paid deaf ears and instead, carted away all the belongings at the NSCDC outpost in Akpabuyo.
“Following the vandalism, the state commandant ordered a sting operation to be carried out with a view to investigate and arrest the suspects,” he maintained.
A resident of the area who simply gave his name as Ekeng, alleged that the chief priest is the one preparing charms for the suspects before they embark on any robbery operation.
Ekeng said one of the suspects, Otu Effiong-Otu, a notorious cultist, is involved in the destruction of property during the #Endsars protest in Akpabuyo.
Also, the state PRO said Effiong-Otu is the one who stole the items and sold them to the chief priest, from where they were recovered by officials of NSCDC in his shrine.
He said, “This is to let the public know that the NSCDC will always find you whenever you are involved in crime. These items were vandalized from our outpost in Akpabuyo two weeks ago.
“As you can see, we recovered all the vandalised items from the shrine of the chief priest. The items are panel doors, burglaries, toilet seats, a generator, cable wires and three motorcycles.
“The Commandant General of NSCDC, Dr Ahmed Audi, has read out a riot act that every case of vandalism must be handled with utmost seriousness.
“We are going to prosecute the suspects in line with our constitutional mandate.
