Emmanuel Chinagorom, a robbery suspect in a Delta community, has admitted that his desire to give his mother a proper burial led him into crime.
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that Chinagorom confessed when he was arrested by members of the Agbor Gha-Ihun Vigilante Group in Agbor, Delta state.
The 24-year-old suspect was said to specialise in stealing phones and other valuable items in Agbor and its environs.
The suspect was reportedly apprehended red-handed at a nearby shop and turned over to the vigilante group.
In an interview with reporters, the Abia State-born suspect claimed to be an electrical technician by trade but chose to steal in order to give his late mother, “whose body is lying in the mortuary, a befitting burial as the first son.”
“I enter shops pretending to patronise them but my aim was always to steal valuable items like phones. This is my first time in Agbor, before I was caught,” he said.
Chinagorom further confessed that he works with a northerner based in Asaba who buys the stolen phones, dding that he had chosen the path of stealing as he had no helper to assist him with startup life.
While pleading for forgiveness, he acknowledged that his involvement in criminal activities had brought disgrace to him.
The Chairman of Agbor Gha-Ihun Vigilante, Comrade Monday Kiyem, told journalists that they “would continue to ensure that Agbor and its environs remain unsafe places for criminals like the apprehended suspect.”
The vigilante chairman disclosed that during investigation, they discovered several telecommunication SIM cards and phones in the suspect’s possession and that many of his victims who were later called, complained that their phones were stolen at different places.
He said, “Some of the victims who reside in Agbor have come to our office to identify their phones and narrated how the suspect came to their shops pretending to buy an item but ended up stealing their phones.
“I will hand Emmanuel over to the police for further investigation and bring his fleeing gang members to book”.
The Special Assistant on Security to the Delta State Governor, Comrade Kiyem, urged criminally-minded individuals to flee from Agbor or be ready to face the wrath of the law when caught.