17-year-old boy locks in parents house, steals car, others

Ayomiposi Esan, a 17-year-old child, is accused of robbing his parents, Mr. Oluwafemi and Mrs. Tosin, of three mobile phones, two generator sets, a sound system, and a Toyota Corolla automobile, among other things.

After locking his parents inside the home in Ogijo, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, the child fled with the valuables.

It was gathered that on September 3, 2023, the suspect was said to have broken into the house in the wee hours of the night while the couple were asleep in the apartment.

A source in the area, who did not want to be mentioned because he was not authorised to speak for the family, told our correspondent that it took a joint effort of other residents to free the parents from the apartment after their son fled the scene with the stolen items.

Awode Olatunde, a superintendent of police, led his men in a vigorous pursuit of the suspect after the victims reported the event to the Ogijo Divisional Police Station. This pursuit ended with the suspect’s arrest in Lagos while he (Ayomiposi) was hunting for buyers for the stolen goods.

The source said, “The boy had successfully sold one generator set he stole. The father is preventing the police from prosecuting the son after his arrest. The police wanted the boy to be prosecuted for his action, but the parents said they wanted him to be released along with the stolen items.”

Omolola Odutola, the state’s public relations officer, verified the occurrence to our correspondent on Wednesday and commented on it. He said the force wanted to charge the youngster but was unable to do so because the boy’s parents were against it.

Odutola said, “The course of the investigation was truncated by the complainant, who was equally the biological father of the suspect, as he vehemently declined prosecution of his son, one Ayomiposi Esan. He wanted his son and the recovered stolen goods, including the car, released.

“In the spirit of community policing and taking into consideration the image of the force so that police will not be seen as being too harsh on him and his family, the teenage son was consequently released with his property on bond.

“However, the son was counselled, cautioned, and advised to turn a new leaf and shun further indulgence in all forms of delinquency to avoid future occurrences.”