By Joshua Yousouph
Findings by Shipping Position Daily have revealed that the Western Ports Authority Police arrested a total of 42 suspects in connection with various criminal offences across the nation’s western ports during the first half of 2026, while investigating cases involving properties worth N302.78 million.
The half-year crime report, signed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Ports CID; defolarin Adedeji which was exclusively made available to our correspondent, showed that the Command handled 35 reported cases between January and June, leading to the arrest of 42 suspects across offences including stealing, obtaining by trick (OBT), forgery, stowaway, unlawful seizure, threat to life and perversion of justice.
According to the report, 11 cases involving 21 suspects were charged to court during the period, while 10 suspects were convicted. Another 11 suspects are currently awaiting trial, while 21 suspects remain under investigation. The report indicated that no case was pending legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
A breakdown of the statistics showed that stealing recorded the highest number of arrests, accounting for 22 suspects from 10 reported cases. Four of the cases were charged to court involving nine suspects, while 13 suspects remain under investigation and six cases are still being investigated.
The offence of stowaway ranked next with four reported cases and nine arrests. All four cases were prosecuted, with the nine suspects subsequently convicted.
The Command also recorded five cases of obtaining by trick (OBT), leading to the arrest of four suspects. One case was charged to court, while three suspects remain under investigation and four cases are still being investigated.
Forgery accounted for four reported cases and four arrests, while offences relating to conduct likely to cause breach of peace, unlawful seizure, receiving stolen property, threat to life, suspected unlawful dealing (S.U.D), and perversion of justice made up the remaining cases handled by investigators.
The report further revealed that the total value of property reported stolen, damaged or lost during the six-month period stood at N302,778,620. However, investigators successfully recovered property worth N15,960,000.
Stealing accounted for the highest financial losses, with property valued at N138.21 million reported stolen, of which N13.46 million was recovered. Cases of obtaining by trick resulted in losses of N106.91 million, with N2.5 million recovered.
Other notable losses included N46.46 million linked to unlawful seizure, N5 million from forgery, N3.6 million involving conduct likely to cause a breach of peace, and N2.6 million in threat-to-life cases.
