From Abeokuta.
As muslim faithful in Nigeria prepare to join their counterparts in other parts of the world to celebrate this year Sallah festival, three days from now, the Police Command in Ogun State says it has arrested two middle-aged men: Adetunji Alagbe and Opeyemi Ogunlokun, for allegedly stealing Sallah ram.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the Command in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi,made the disclosure in Abeokuta, adding that the animal belonged to one Sodiq Abolore.
According to him, the two suspects were arrested following a report lodged at Ogijo divisional headquarters by the owner of the ram.
The PPRO qouted Abolore as saying that he was sleeping in his house at about 3 a.m, when he heard an unusual noise in his compound, a development that made him peep through the window.
Abolore said that in the process, he discovered that the iron gate he used to block the entrance where he kept his Sallah ram had been pulled down.
“This made him to come out and discovered that his Sallah ram which he bought at the rate of N120,000 was no longer there.
“He stated further that when he searched around, he saw three men forcing his ram into the boot of a waiting Mazda car, which made him to raise alarm and distress call was made to the police,” the police image maker said.
Oyeyemi further disclosed that the three suspects were chased, two arrested while the third escaped.
“The ram was recovered and the two suspects were taken to custody,”according to him.
The PPRO said that the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Lanre Bankole, has ordered an indepth investigation of the case, with a view to charging the suspects to court as soon as possible,” the PPRO assured.
Meanwhile,our Correspondent who visited ram markets in Lokoja on Thursday reports that the prices of the animals have hit the root, forcing muslims to opt for lesser but acceptable for slaughtering during the festival.
Our finding revealed that an average ram sold for N50,000 in 2022 has gone up to between N70,000 and N90,000 while the highest price of such animal went for N100,000 and N120,000, depending on the size and other qualities.
Mal. Saminu Abdullahi, one of the sellers of ram, in an interview with our Correspondent attributed the skyrocketing price of the animal to the high cost of transportation among other factors.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
