Guard says torture made him confess to stealing

A security guard with a Lagos-based engineering company has said he was forced to confess that he stole cables worth N8.6m from his company after being tortured by policemen.

Dio Odificho, 25, who was arraigned at the Yaba Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, said “It was because I did not want to die that I said I committed the crime. If you see my body now, you will pity me. One of them took pliers and said he would cut off my penis. That was why I said I did it.”

Odifocho had in his confessional statement, presented by the police, stated how he collaborated with one Friday, his friend, on the night of the crime to cart away armoured cables from BOT Engineering Company Nigeria Ltd, where he was on duty for the weekend.

He allegedly said he had the opportunity when Moses Agwu, a fellow security guard, complained that he was ill that night. He therefore excused him, and promised to hold brief for the unsuspecting Agwu.

Friday was said to have entered the company premises with an LT bus and a cash of N40,000, which was used to bribe the security men at the street gate where the company is located.

The crime was detected by the Internal Controller of the company, Mrs. Favour Nwaorgu.

She said, “It was on Monday Morning when I came to perform my duty as the Internal Control Manager of the company.

“I discovered some armoured cables were missing and I went to the security post to find out about the movement of cables, but the security guards on duty that day said there was no movement of cables”

“Then I picked the register, to know if there was any entry, but there was none”

Nwaorgu reported her observation to the management and the security men within the company were alerted to the development. It was while searching that they discovered the personal effects of Odificho were missing. Policemen from the Sabo Police Station were called in, and upon investigation, Odificho was nabbed in Ogun State where he was purportedly hiding.

CloseWatch, the security outfit through which Odificho joined the service of the company, has promised to pay compensation but insists on first getting a conviction that Odificho indeed stole the missing cables.

The case was adjourned till April 22, 2013.