In the capital of Adamawa State, Yola, four men accused of auto theft have admitted to stealing a car worth N5 million and selling it for N800,000.
The men entered guilty pleas to the charges of “criminal conspiracy, theft, abetment, dishonesty, and receiving of stolen property” after being arraigned before Chief Magistrate Court 2, Yola.
Adamu Yahaya, 31, Babangida Jalo, 43, Mohammed Gidado, 33, and Yusuf Mohammed Isah, 25 are among the four defendants.
Faisal Mahmud, 30, who was allegedly also involved, was unable to be arraigned due to his alleged illness, while the other four males were placed under detention at a correctional facility in Yola.
At the time of arraignment, Abubakar Manu, the sixth individual named as a member of the car theft ring, was reportedly evading capture.
The current defendants, who were arraigned by Musa Adamu’s Chief Magistrate Court, will now appear in court again on February 6 for the case’s next session.
The case’s prosecuting police officer, ASP Iliya Akawu, informed the court that Mohammed Gidado of Ibadan Street, Alkalawa Ward in Yola North LGA, and Abubakar Manu (who is currently at large) conspired with Yusuf Isah of Wura Hausa Ward Yola South LGA to steal the car, a 2007 Toyota RAV 4 model with registration number RSH 548 BB ABJ.
In the first information report, or FIR, that he filed, Iliya described how, on December 18, 2024, the defendants took Aliyu Umar’s car, which was worth N5 million and belonged to him in the Wuro Hausa ward of Yola South LGA;
Yusuf Isah broke into the car’s owner’s home, took the key, and had one of his accomplices, Abubakar Manu, take the vehicle to Babangida Jalo of Ganye Street in Yola North LGA, according to the prosecution.
According to the police officer, Babangida, who was aware of the theft beforehand, arranged for Faisal Mahmud, a buyer from Kolere Ward in Mubi North LGA, to purchase the stolen stuff.
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He went on to say that Faisal Mahmud paid N400,000 into the account of the yet-to-be-arrested Abubakar Manu as a partial payment for the automobile, which he had purchased for N800,000 on his way to Yola from Mubi.
He went on to say that Faisal Mahmud handed Mohammed Gidado and Babangida Jalo N100,000 each for their individual contributions to the crime before driving off to Mubi, where he was apprehended.
