11 kid robbers aged 12-14 arrested in Ibadan

11 kid robbers arrested in Ibadan,Oyo
state are to be rehabilitated.They were
arrested on June 15.The Commissioner of
Police, Mohammed Katsina, told News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan
Some of the kid robbers, aged between 12
and 14, conspired and invaded a house
around the Challenge Area of Ibadan,
where they stole the sum of N11,000.
"Based on information, the Anti-Robbery
Squad of the command was sent out
immediately and they were surprised to
see kids of 12 and 14 years of age coming
out to make confessional statements,"
he said.
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Katsina, who also expressed pity on the
plight of the kids, explained that they
voluntarily narrated to the police details
about their activities. He lamented that
the involvement of the kids in robbery
activities could be attributed to lack of
parental care and poverty.
"Most of these children are from broken
homes and I wish parents can learn from
the plight of these kids and take proper
care of their children.
"One thing that keeps disturbing me is
the voluntary narration and sincerity of
the kids. They have no shelter of any sort
and to them, their future starts and ends
on the bridge. "Their only means of
livelihood is to savage innocent members
of the public, be involved in pick
pocketing, robbery and related criminal
activities," he said. Katsina noted that 90
per cent of the kids arrested were not
residents or indigenes of Oyo State.
"Some of them are from Benin Republic
in search of greener pastures in Nigeria, in
a negative way," he said. The police boss
disclosed that one of the 11 kid robbers, a
12-year-old boy, was apprehended in
Ogbomoso in a robbery-related conduct.
"In the course of the arrest, he led us to
six other members of his group, where
four of them were minors and the two
others adults. "The boy is from Kwara
State, as we got to know from his
confession. He confessed that his father
was living happily with his mother until he
married a second wife.
"As a result of that, there was a problem
and the mother moved out with the kid
robber and relocated to Ogbomoso," he
said. Katsina, however, added that the
command was currently taking care of the
11 arrested minors. He also said that
Governor Abiola Ajimobi had promised to
assist in the rehabilitation and provision
of adequate care for the kids.
"When I spoke with him, he said that
there were rehabilitation centres in
Ibadan, where the kids would be provided
with basic care amenities. The governor
also said that the state government would
assist to provide job opportunities for
unemployed youths in the state at the
newly-inaugurated Waste-to-Energy
projects." The Oyo police boss, however,
called on parents and the governments of
the neighbouring countries to monitor the
activities of their children and wards,
while admonishing Nigerians and
philanthropists to assist them.