By Esther Onyegbula

LAGOS —  In a renewed effort to rid Lagos State of criminals, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad,RRS, yesterday, arrested a dismissed police officer and one other person for vandalizing and stealing manhole cover.

The suspect, Earnest Young (30), who coincidentally is a son of a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, was arrested with his accomplice, Rasheed Tiamiyu, (20), on Eko Bridge around 10:00 p.m, Tuesday.

Young who hails from Yala Local Government in Cross River State. He was arrested in possession of man-hole cover, vandalized and stolen on the Eko Bridge.

The suspect stated that he and his accomplice trekked from Ijora under bridge to Eko Bridge to steal the item, adding that they were in search of food when they saw the item which they planned to sell to cart pushers.

He explained that his accomplice, Rasheed Tiamiyu, a primary school drop-out, lured him into the crime, a claim Tiamiyu denied, stressing that, ‘Young, rather, was the one who lured him into the crime.

Tiamiyu said: “We stole the cover even when I protested against it. The entire plan was all his idea. Despite the fact that the cover was very heavy, Young insisted in stealing it with the plan to sell it to scrap metal buyers the following day.

“Both of us work as load carriers in Ijora.  We sleep in Ijora park. We had no money to feed ourselves.”

Confirming the arrest of the suspects, Commander of the Rapid Response Squad, Assistant Commissioner of Police Olatunji Disu, said the action of the suspects posed a great danger to road users, adding that uncovered manhole can cause accident, particularly at night.

The suspects have since been charged to court.