A male dressed as a female has been caught while allegedly trying to steal from a female hostel at the Adamawa State College of Nursing and Midwifery, Yola.
The state Police Command on Wednesday paraded the man, John Jika, among 14 other people charged with various other offences, including kidnapping.
Although the man told newsmen he disguised as a girl for easy access to his girlfriend at the hostel, police insisted he entered the female hostel with the intention to steal.
The police command said it had established that Jika is a long-time thief who specialises in entering the female hostel and stealing mostly gas cylinders.
The Officer in Charge (OC) of the state police Crack Squad, CSP Ahmed Gombi, who addressed newsmen while parading the suspect, said Jika John perpetuated criminal trespass by dressing as a female and entering the compound of the school of nursing.
“We have established that he used to steal cooking cylinders of students. We received a distress call that he was about to be lynched, so my men went there, rescued and brought him to the police headquarters.
“He has confessed that he is not alone. So, we are looking at the possibility of a syndicate. We will go after them one by one,” CSP Ahmed said.
He added, “The boy has no girlfriend in the institution. We have done our background check. He normally goes there to steal gas cylinders of female students. These cylinders are portable.”
Speaking on the four among the 15 suspects charged with kidnapping, CSP Ahmed Gombi said they were brought in from Gombi, in the northern part of Adamawa State, after they were caught with the people they abducted.
He explained that the four kidnapped someone and were taking him up the mountain when information got to the police.
“Because we work in synergy with hunters, we called the head hunter in Gombi who raised a team, pursued them and rescued the man unharmed. The suspects were brought in with two Dane guns.”