Two men have been nabbed by the Oyo State Police Command for looting the abandoned house of the slain former Justice Minister and Attorney General of the Federation, late Chief Bola Ige.

The suspects, Olajide Olowu, 36, and Felix Nwangu, 39, were security guards hired to watch over the sprawling edifice since the demise of its owners, Ige, killed in December 2001 and his wife, Justice Atinuke Ige, a retired Appeal Court judge who died while the trial of the murder suspects were on two years later.

The suspects allegedly took advantage of the abandoned building and occasional visits of the deceased couple’s children to ransack the house and help themselves to the goods.
Among the stolen items were personal effects of the late politician and his wife, including shoes, clothings, easy (collapsible) chair, bed spread and electronic gadgets. Some goods belonging to their son, Muyiwa, were also stolen.

The deceased couple’s surviving children, Muyiwa and his sister, Adeola Adegbola, were said to have discovered the theft during a routine visit to the house on Monday last week. They consequently reported the matter to the Acting Commissioner of Police who ordered immediate investigation of the complaint.

The two guards, Daily Sun learnt, were arrested based on suspicion, as they were the ones who had access to the building.
The State Assistant Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Iyaganku, Mr Taiwo Lakanu, personally led a crack team of detectives to the building called Solemlia Court located in the highbrow Bodija District in Ibadan, where police forensic experts took finger and foot prints.

Although, the suspects initially denied committing the crime, they were said to have caved in and confessed to the crime under rigorous interrogation, especially after the result and comparison of the finger and footprints test showed that they matched theirs.
Some of the stolen items were later recovered at the suspects private homes.
When contacted, the SCID boss said investigation into the crime was still on and that the suspects would soon be charged to court.