A house help from the Republic of Benin, Mathew Kudjo, 25, has been arrested by the Oyo State Command of the Nigeria Police for stealing $59000 and other sums of money in local and foreign currencies, totalling N21,395000.
The state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Odude, who paraded the suspect at the state command headquarters in Ibadan, said Kudjo planned to abscond to the US and that he was caught in the process of absconding.
Odude added that Kodjo had already built a house in his home country from the proceeds of the crime.
The commissioner said, “A Beninoise chef has been nabbed in his criminal hideout in Ibadan by the Special Anti-robbery Squad of the command after stealing large sum of money from his employer.
“The suspect on February 12, 2017, betrayed trust and confidence reposed in him by his benevolent master by breaking into his apartment in Ikolaba area of Ibadan, where he stole the sum of $59000 and N3.4m in local and other foreign currencies. After successfully carrying out the criminal act, the suspect perfected sinister plans to abscond abroad with the loot but through intensive investigation and high-level intelligence carried out, he was nabbed before he could escape to the US, having procured a visa.”
Odude said a sum of N1.5m, international passport and other travelling documents were recovered from the suspect. Kodjo said he stole the money while his employer went out to play golf, adding that he was not the only domestic worker in the house.
He said, “I did not want other staff to know that I was stealing from our master. He does not stay at home at all time so I would enter his room and steal. I also stole some money while he was out playing golf. I was planning to go to the US and already, I have built a house in Benin Republic with some of the money.”
The commissioner called on the public to always inform the Central Criminal Registry when they planned to recruit domestic staff from a neighbouring country or within Nigeria. According to him, the registry had the capacity to check the profile of foreigners and even Nigerian citizens.
