Ugwu bowed his head to prevent journalists from taking pictures of his face

 

The officials of Nigerian Police Force from Enugu Command have arrested a Deputy Superintendent of Prisons in the Nigerian Prisons Service, Collins Ugwu, for an alleged involvement in armed robbery.

 

According to a report by PUNCH Metro, Ugwu who resides in Abuja, where he works at the headquarters of the NPS, was arrested in Enugu on June 26, with suspected accomplices, Ifeanyi Ozor, a native of Enugu State who is also resident in Abuja; and Smart Osetu from Oguta in Imo State.

 

Spwaking while parading the suspects, the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, Mohammed Danmallam, disclosed, that apart from armed robbery, the prisons officer and his gang were also involved in conspiracy, malicious damage, stealing and ‘obtaining by tricks.’

 

He revealed that Ugwu and his colleagues were apprehended after the police gathered intelligence information on their activities. He added that the gang stayed around the premises of commercial banks to monitor prospective victims who had come to withdraw money.

 

The Enugu police chief said, “The suspects (Ugwu, Ozor and Osetu) belong to a syndicate that specialises in monitoring anyone that has gone to bank to make withdrawals and trail them to a point where they can smartly force the door or the windscreen (of the victims’ car) open with their instrument and steal the said amount.

 

“They are also part of a syndicate that buys goods from traders and generate fake payment alert to the owner of the goods without him knowing.

 

“They were nabbed along Ogui Road, Enugu by the operatives of the Enugu State Police Command on June 26, 2018, following intelligence information gathered concerning their nefarious activities.”

 

Items recovered from the suspects, according to Danmallam, include a Golf car with registration number Abuja RBC 220 KF, and a broken plug which they allegedly use in “scratching down” the window of the car to steal from their victims.

 

Ugwu rebuffed attempts by journalists to get him to explain why a deputy superintendent of prisons would venture into armed robbery and other criminal activities, especially after witnessing, from close quarters, the harsh treatment meted out to criminals in Nigerian prisons, where they are compelled to live in sub-human conditions.

 

Sitting quietly on the bare floor, Ugwu refused to respond to questions. He also bowed his head to prevent journalists from taking pictures of his face.