Police operatives attached to Area E Command, Festac in Lagos State, have arrested five persons for attempting to bribe them with N500,000 after they were arrested for allegedly stealing construction materials.

The spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, a Chief Superintendent of Police, confirmed the arrest in a statement he released to newsmen on Tuesday.

Mr Adejobi said that the arrest was made on Sunday at about 3.00 a.m., when the suspects were accosted between Volks Bus Stop and Iyana-Iba, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

He said that the suspects were driving in a Ford Bus with Reg. No. FST 679 XZ, transporting some 25mm iron rods.

According to Mr Adejobi, the property belongs to the China Construction Engineering Company, CCEC.

“The suspects, when arrested by the police, were alleged to have offered a bribe of N500,000, which was rejected and they were arrested with the stolen materials.

“The items recovered from them are: some pieces of 25mm iron rods, one Nozzle, one gas cylinder and a Ford Bus with Reg. No. FST 697 XZ.

“The management of CCEC has been contacted by the police and identified the stolen items to be their property,” he said.

Mr Adejobi also said that the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu, had ordered a thorough investigation into the case with a view to charging the suspects to court as soon as possible.