A farmer has been apprehended by operatives of the Ondo State Police Command for allegedly beating a suspected thief to death in Odigbo Local Government Area of the state.

The farmer identified as Adegoke allegedly committed the crime at Mile 10, Ore axis of the local government, when he descended on the deceased suspect and his friends after accusing them of stealing his farm produce.

According to sources, the other suspects attacked by Adegoke had been hospitalised, stressing that Adegoke claimed the suspected thieves who hailed from the neighbouring Aba Tuntun community had also stolen his motorcycle.

One of the sources, who craved anonymity, said: “Some suspected thieves had been stealing the farm produce of one Adegoke, popularly called Ariya. But he had been keeping quiet for long.

“However, Nemesis caught up with the thieves, as Adegoke was able to get hold of two persons out of four found on his farm. Before now, his cocoa pods, kola nuts, and plantains had been missing from his farm often and often, including his motorcycle. But he found two persons culpable of the offence.”

Following the incident, Adegoke was subsequently arrested and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Akure, the state capital, for investigation.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, who confirmed the incident, stated that the complainant claimed the suspected thieves were around Adegoke’s farm to pick snails and not to steal.

According to the police spokesperson, who disclosed that the investigation had begun, it was the wife of Adegoke who called her husband that thieves were on his farm, and he returned to attack them.

Police arrest Ondo farmer for beating suspected thief to death