Thirty-four-year-old Oyemachi Maduabuchi, one of the inmates who escaped during a jailbreak at the Owerri Correctional Centre in Imo State, has been rearrested by the Lagos State Police Command.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Oyemachi was arrested after he allegedly stole a SIM and memory cards belonging to a member of the Bride Assembly Church in the Ijesha area of Lagos State.
It was learnt that Oyemachi’s sister, Amarachi, whom he had been living with in Lagos, took him to the church for special deliverance.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement on Tuesday that he allegedly stole the SIM and memory cards of the church member during a vigil, adding that the items were found in his possession after the service.
Adejobi said, “The Lagos State Police Command, around 2am on April 23, 2021, rearrested one Oyemachi Maduabuchi, 34, who escaped from the Owerri Correctional Centre, Imo State, after the jailbreak that occurred on April 5, 2021.
“The suspect, who fled Owerri the same day, moved to his village in Onitsha, Anambra State, to meet his mother, who later linked him up with his elder sister, Amarachi Maduabuchi, of Customs bus stop, Ijegun, Lagos. The sister thereafter invited him to Lagos on April 19, 2021.
“The suspect was kept in the sister’s house, where she led him to the church for a special deliverance service. After the vigil on April 20, 2021, at the Bride Assembly Church in the Ijesha area of Lagos State, the suspect allegedly stole a SIM and memory cards of a member of the church (name withheld) before he was eventually arrested and the stolen items recovered from him.”
Until his escape from the Owerri Correctional Centre, Adejobi stated that Oyemachi was standing trial for conspiracy, armed robbery and arson, adding that he confessed to stealing the items after he was apprehended.
The PPRO said, “In the course of police investigation, it was discovered that the suspect had been standing trial since 2009 for conspiracy, armed robbery and arson before Justice Nna Amadi of the Ngbidi High Court 1, Ngbidi, Imo State.
“The suspect has confessed to the crime and the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, has directed that he should be handed over to the Nigeria Correctional Service for further investigation and necessary action.
“The CP assured members of the general public that the command would not relent in its efforts at making the state safe and peaceful for all to live in as all handswere on the deck to effectively police Lagos State.”
