Tension as faceless arsonists, burglars invade Olugbon area Ogbomoso, 2 cars burnt one night
Jeremiah OYELEKE
Isale-Olugbon area Ogbomoso Oyo state has been caught up in the throes of arson and burglary in recent weeks with the most malicious incident being the burning of two cars in one night Saturday/Sunday August 6.
Residents now live in fear as the criminal elements have so far evaded arrest, “However, a boy was almost caught last Sunday, a son of a landlord in the area, he is now at large,” a resident told ogbomosoinsightonline.com Saturday morning.
Mr. Samson Olaleye, a victim whose car was razed said it was exactly 4:05 am on Sunday when his brother raised alarm that there was fire outside.
“We rushed out and we found out my car was on fire,” Olaleye who lives further down Olugbon Hotel beside Victory College, New Bello Hospital sub-area informed.
“We just saw the car burning, we didn’t know what caused the fire. My brother who first saw it after waking to use the lavatory was shouting, ‘Daddy Sewa, Daddy Sewa, fire, fire, fire.’ Our mom’s car, a Toyota Corolla, was parked behind my own burning and there was another car in the compound.
“The vehicle was engulfed in flame, we couldn’t put out the fire. We tried to quell it but it was beyond our effort, we poured water but the fire didn’t go out, so, we cried out for help fearing it could affect the house and the two other vehicles. We don’t know how it happened what I just know is that I had taken that vehicle out for over a month because I use it for cashew-nut business not for commercial purpose.
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“It is my mom’s car I do take out, she is a lecturer at LAUTECH (Ladoke Akintola University of Technology), I do take her to school. I had removed the battery of the burnt car or else we would have thought it was the battery that sparked the fire.”
Further explaining Olaleye said, “The only thing I noticed is that there was footprint by the fence and so possibly someone scaled over the fence and threw fire at the seat because if a car burns it usually is from the engine or fuel tank. But this was not so, it was obvious the fire started from the back seat, owner’s side, the door on that side was left ajar.”
Meanwhile, he revealed that his was not the only car that was torched that night positing if otherwise he would have thought maybe he offended some people who came to exact vengeance.
“But there was another one nearby. Someone came to visit one of our neighbours who slept over and whose car was also torched. But because there was battery in that car the alarm sounded and so they quickly rushed out to see what was happening and so they were able to put out the fire in time but not after the front part had burnt. But it was discovered the arsonists used a rag to start the fire from beneath the front tire.”
The only suspect was a boy in the neighbourhood whose father is a landlord as Olaleye submitted, “We don’t suspect anyone. I don’t know anyone in the area, it is from work to church, I don’t interact with the people, it is my mom that usually attends the landlords’ meeting, we are Deeper Life members so it is church programme every evening.
“The surprising thing is that at about 7:30 am that day we had gone to church, we didn’t allow the incident to debar us from going to church, they now called us that some boys had been discovered, one of them whom they said was the son of a landlord had scaled the fence of a house attempting to steal a generating set, he was said to be already carrying the stolen item away when he was seen, he dropped the generator and flew over the fence again; about three of them were now seen running away towards a stream and they were able to escape. The boy is now at large.”
Corroborating Mr. Olaleye, another resident, Mrs. Rhoda Adeniran, lamented many houses in the area had been affected by the burglary incidence especially.
She disclosed the main suspect (the boy) of the arson lives on and off with his father but that since he was almost caught by the retired police officer who saw him while attempting to steal the generating set he had fled the area.
Mrs. Adeniran, a palm oil seller, said the boy’s father owned up to his son’s past escapades when confronted by landlords in the area at an emergency meeting.
The suspected criminals might have gone underground but ogbomosoinsightonline.com was told that Thursday/Friday this week again some houses were burgled in the area. “The criminals broke windows, tore window nets to steal phones and other valuables,” indicating the men of the underworld still prowl the community with little fear.
