Police in Lagos State have reportedly detained an Inspector attached to the Railway Police Command, Ebute-Meta of the State, whose name was given simply as Joseph, for allegedly stealing bunches of plantain.

The Punch reports that the officer was taken into custody on Tuesday as he tried to hide the plantain in two trucks.

Joseph was arrested and detained at the directive of a senior police officer in the command.

According to a source at the Ebute-Meta command, another senior officer pleaded with the superior officer for the release of the suspect in order to save the command from embarrassment.

The source said, “The inspector is attached to the Railway Police Command. On Tuesday around 12pm, he went to the commissioner’s lodge and harvested plantains without any authority.

“As if that was not bad enough, he brought two trucks into the command to take the plantain away. He wanted to cover up the plantains with some iron sheets so that he could take them through the gate without being detected.

“He was on this when some workers at the Railway Command called the attention of the authorities to it and he was arrested.”

According to the newspaper, another source at the command disclosed that the superior officer of the suspect begged for his release.

He said, “The matter is still on. The senior officer who pleaded that he should not be prosecuted explained that the action could dent the image of the command.”

The State Commissioner of Police, Pius Imue, said he could not comment on the incident, adding that he was in Abuja for an assignment.

He said, “I have been in Abuja since last weekend for the inauguration of the Abuja-Kaduna railway line, so I haven’t been on the ground to know about the incident. And if this happened in the command, officers who were on the ground would have attended to it.”