Police Arrest Five Teenagers Over Shop Burglaries in Ogun

Among those arrested are two teenagers who allegedly confessed to participating in multiple shop burglaries across Ado-Odo. The command, in a statement issued on Saturday by Deputy Police Public Relations Officer ASP Oluborode Opeyemi, said the arrests followed coordinated operations involving police, community members, and local security operatives. The first incident occurred at about 3:30 a.m. on September 2, 2026, after residents alerted police that a watchman had observed suspicious movements inside a market stall.

Police patrol teams were mobilized to the scene, where two teenagers — 15-year-old Lateef Kalid and 16-year-old Kareem Jamal — were allegedly apprehended inside the shop. Stolen foodstuffs and other items were reportedly recovered from them. Further interrogation led to the arrest of 14-year-old Sofiu Alabi, who allegedly admitted providing the key used to gain access to the shop.

All three suspects have been charged to court. In a related development on September 4, local security operatives of the So-Safe Corps reportedly apprehended two other teenagers — 16-year-old Taofik Abioro and 15-year-old Ogundele Monday — before handing them over to police detectives. Preliminary interrogation indicated that the two suspects confessed to participating in multiple shop burglaries across Ado-Odo.

"Subsequent searches at their premises yielded additional stolen items, the statement said, adding that the case had been referred for further investigation." Police said efforts were ongoing to track down an alleged accomplice who remained at large. Commissioner of Police for Ogun State Command, CP Bode Ojajuni, commended officers of the Ado-Odo Division for their swift response and praised the So-Safe Corps and community members for their cooperation. He stressed that collaborative stakeholder engagement remains vital to disrupting criminal networks.