Man allegedly breaks into car, carts away N5m in Bauchi

The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested a suspect and recovered N5 million allegedly stolen from a motorist shortly after he withdrew the money from a commercial bank in Bauchi.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Nafiu Habib, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday, saying the arrest followed a swift operation by detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department.

According to the police, the incident occurred on Monday when a 50-year-old man withdrew N5 million from Fidelity Bank along Ahmadu Bello Way, Bauchi, before driving to HD Plaza for shopping.

The statement said the victim parked and locked his vehicle before entering the plaza, but returned to discover that suspected thieves had allegedly used a fabricated key to force open the car.

The suspects were said to have damaged the vehicle’s door, shattered one of its side windows and carted away the N5 million before concealing the cash in a Peugeot 406.

Police said the victim immediately raised the alarm and pursued the fleeing suspects while calling for help, forcing them to abandon both the vehicle and the stolen cash before escaping.

The statement added that detectives subsequently arrested one of the suspects, identified as Abubakar Mustapha from Tarauni Local Government Area of Kano State, behind Isa Yuguda House in Bauchi.

Items recovered during the operation included the stolen N5 million, the abandoned Peugeot 406 and a fabricated key allegedly used to gain access to the victim’s vehicle.

The Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, directed detectives to conduct a thorough investigation to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate and ensure they are brought to justice.

According to the police, the recovered money has been handed back to the owner.

The command commended the victim and a Good Samaritan whose prompt actions contributed to the recovery of the money and the arrest of the suspect.

It also advised members of the public withdrawing large sums of money to remain security conscious and, where necessary, seek police escort to prevent similar incidents.