- By Demola Atobaba, Ado-Ekiti
For Hillia Suratu, it was an end of road as hearts trembled when an official of the Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN), Ekiti State Command, apprehended a suspected burglar who have been allegedly terrorizing both Federal Housing Estate and Shelter View Estate along Ado/Afao Road, the Ekiti State capital.
The 35-year-old Kaduna State born, Hillia Suratu who is a serial burglar was caught in the act when he broke into a residential building in the area and made attempt to cart away electrical wires cable and other valuables.
Suratu, a resident of Atikankan area of Ado-Ekiti was said to have been instrumental to many burgled incidents in the area and thereby been in possession of some illegal properties which had fuelled suspicion that the accused may have been an agent to those who buying stolen goods in Ado-Ekiti.
But he eventually met his waterloo with the alleged of been the same person who burgled many houses and carted away generating sets, air conditioners, gas cylinders, to mention but a few.
Confirming the development in an interview with TopNews in Ado-Ekiti, the Commandant of Peace Corps of Nigeria, Ekiti State Command, Patriot Mathew Okotie alleged that the Hillia Suratu have been terrorizing the community for a while before he was caught by his officer.
According to him, the accused was said to have successfully burgled many houses in the Estate and it’s environ before luck ran against him.
“He (Suratu) was arrested as a result of the strategies that the command put in place. This was part of our neighborhood plans and various efforts by the Corps to apprehend criminals and to also ensure the security of lives and properties of Ekiti people is guaranteed”.
He said they (criminals) were more than that in numbers who are operating in the community, but some of them escaped, adding that the suspect who are in his early thirty at times came during Church service hours, but unfortunately for him, one of our officer caught him red handed right there inside the ceiling of a building while cutting cable wires and thereby alerted other residents in the Estate who came to rendered assistance to ensure his arrest.
Okotie further disclosed that the suspect has been handed over to the security agents for further investigation and subsequent prosecution.
Suratu who confessed that it’s true he is deeply involved and that they used to gained enterance to the Estate through a nearby busy alongside his other three brothers, but pleaded for forgiveness.
