Sunday, September 3, 2023, will remain unforgettable in the life of a couple in Ogijo, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, as their 17-year-old son, unleashed horror on them as he locked them up in the house, and swept away their valuables.
According to a report by Punch Metro, the 17-year-old boy, Ayomiposi Esan, reportedly swooped on his parents in the small hours of last Sunday, while they were still fast asleep, locked them inside the house, and stole their Toyota Corolla car, two generating sets, a sound system, and three mobile phones, all belonging to the couple-Mr. Oluwafemi and Mrs. Tosin Esan.
After dealing his parents the heavy blow, he fled with the items. But he was not fast enough for the police as cops from the Ogijo Divisional Police Station, led by a Superintendent of Police, Awode Olatunde, gave him a hot chase.
The cops got the boy in Lagos while he was desperately looking for buyers. By the time they got him, he had already sold one of the generating sets.
According to an anonymous source cited in the Punch Metro report, residents, responding to shouts of help by the helpless parents, raced to the apartment and set them free.
Despite their agonizing experience, however, the parents prevented the police from prosecuting the boy.
“The boy had successfully sold one generator set he stole,” the source told the newspaper. “(However,) 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.”
The Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Omolola Odutola, confirmed the heist to the newspaper, but regretted that much as the force would have loved to make the boy face justice, they were handicapped by the parents who allegedly vehemently opposed the move to prosecute their boy.
Odutola’s words: “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 counseled, cautioned, and advised to turn a new leaf and shun further indulgence in all forms of delinquency to avoid future occurrences.”