Recovers over N100 Million in Jewelry and Cash
By Anayochukwu Agbo
The Nigeria Police Force, Rivers State Command, has quietly foiled an in-house burglary heist at the Port Harcourt home of former President, Goodluck Jonathan, and recovered jewelry worth over N100 million and cash.
The Sentinel reliably gathered the burglar ran out of luck on September 20, 2022, when an eagle-eyed Police Inspector, Ugwuodo Zebedee, of Special Protection Unit Base 19, Rivers State, on duty at the former President’s house at the Old Government Residential Area, GRA, intercepted a domestic worker who was smuggling the high profile jewelries out of the compound. This opened a can of worms, which had been quietly and serially eating away the treasures of former First Lady, Patience Jonathan.
A cleaner who also doubles as laundry man and a gardener had closed work and was leaving about 4.00pm on that fateful day. He had a black bag slung on his back and was heading for the exit gate. He appeared to be avoiding the policeman on duty. The Policeman called him and reminded him that as a rule he should not slip out of the gate as all bags are subject to stop and search.
He was asked to submit the bag for search. Acting suspiciously, he cleverly dropped the bag aside and went for the search. The Police Inspector ordered him to go and bring the bag for search and kept an eye on him. He wasted time before coming back with the bag. Instinctively, the Policeman suspected he may have shaved off some content of the bag and asked him to go and bring the items he dropped. The suspect complied and brought some items. He was asked to go back again and bring the remaining ones. Once again he complied and brought more items. At this point the Policeman returned with him to the security room and confirmed there were no more items remaining.
He was then ordered to empty all the items in the bag on the ground. The following items were found: One bottle of Johnny Walker whisky, a leather bag containing different dimensions of gold jewelries, a small black purse containing another set of gold jewelries, a POS machine, cash in N500 notes wrapped with rubber bands.
On interrogation, the Cleaner claimed the items were way-billed to him from Lagos by a friend who was owing him N50, 000. According to him, the alleged sender had asked him to market the items and balance him his N50, 000. The Policeman did not fall for that tale.
He was asked to produce the receipt of the waybill in his name as receiver and the name of the driver who brought them from Lagos to Port Harcourt so that his claims could be confirmed. He replied that he did not have the driver’s telephone number. “Then how did you did get the parcel without the driver’s number?” he was asked. He further claimed that the sender called the driver who came out at their luxurious bus motor park at Emenike Street in Diobu, Port Harcourt and handed over the parcel to him.
But the Inspector could not be beaten by these clever lies. He demanded for the number of the sender who called the driver from Lagos so he could call him and confirm the consignment directly. He could not provide the sender’s number. The Officer then put it to him at this point that he strongly suspected the items belong to Dame Patience Jonathan,
But the Cleaner was not done at his game yet. He said he know the jewelries were fake ones; that Mrs Jonathan could not wear these kind of cheap jewelries. On the whiskey, he said he picked it from the former First Lady’s house. On the POS machine, he claimed he does POS business.
The Police Officer insisted that the suspect will not be allowed to leave the compound unless he contacted the family members who would witness that the items were not Mrs Jonathan’s property.
At this point he knew the game was up and offered to bribe the Policeman with some of the looted items and was turned down.
The suspect called the Supol in charge of the compound to report that he had been arrested. The Inspector informed the Supol on the phone that he arrested the suspect because of the magnitude of what he was carrying. The Supol was also told the suspect had been trying to bribe the Inspector. The Supol shortly arrived on the scene and was shocked by what he saw. He said the items were Mrs Jonathan’s jewelries and ordered them returned to the house.
.At the backyard the police officers further interrogated the suspect. They demanded the sender’s number again. The suspect played another trick. He called an unknown person and told the person, “Please ooh Bros, come and tell Police here that these jewelries belong to you to save me from their hands.”
The next day the suspect came with someone to claim the items. The Policemen arrested him and on further interrogation he admitted that he stole the items from Mrs Jonathan’s house. When the Police searched his house with a warrant they found to their surprise that all the items he has in his house belong to Mrs Jonathan. More gold jewelries and other items were recovered.
The Police asked him how he was able to move all the properties from the house. He revealed he moved them through dustbin in the night; that what he did was that when Mrs Jonathan came home he was the sole person who removed the dustbin. Whatever he stole he put in the dustbin.
The sum of N1million was also recovered, proceeds of items he had sold to ‘Aboki’ at Rumuola. Those who know the market value of jewelries said that the Aboki cheated him as the items were worth about much more.
The official value of the items recovered is put at N100million but those in the jewelries trade whom The Sentinel showed the pictures said the jewelries are grossly undervalued.
Four people were arrested in connection with the burglary and are facing trial. They are being detained at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre awaiting sentencing.
The Nigeria Police, Rivers State command, has confirmed the incident. It is another positive story from the Nigeria Police Force. It would surely have rubbished the image of the Police had this thief and his accomplices got away with this heist.
It is hoped that the officer who arrested the thief would be adequately compensated to encourage more personnel to toe the part of righteousness. The value of the jewelries offered to him as bribe was said to be about N50 million. If there is no adequate reward for his integrity and professionalism, he may appear foolish in the eyes of the public and his colleagues. The convicts may also come out of prison to mock him.
