Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, Lagos State Police Command have arrested one Emmanuel John, 26 years old for duplicating the car key of his boss, Mrs. Flora Ighalo, and later absconded with it without the knowledge of the owner.
The suspect was arrested at Abraham Adesanya Estate, Lekki penultimate Sunday by the operatives for stealing his boss’s car, a Toyota Corolla, Epe 642 DX with the aim aim of taking the car to a valentine party at Splash Hotel, Sangotedo, Ajah. According to John, he had about a week before carrying out the act cut the Toyota Corolla key without the knowledge of his boss. However, on February 14, 2016, Sunday afternoon, when he was not supposed to be at work John sneaked into the Abraham Adesanya Estate residence of her boss and drove the car away with the duplicated key. John narrated thus, “I and my friend, Oscar, wanted to carry the Toyota Corolla to Splash Hotel’s Valentine Show on Sunday night. I persuaded Madam to give the go ahead to cut a spare key but she declined.
A week before, February 14th, I duplicated the key without her knowledge in Obalende. “Though, she excused me from work on Sundays, I sneaked into her resident and took away the car after church. I took the car to my residence in Ajuwe Area, Ajah, Lagos. “My plan was that, after the valentine show, it’s going to be stressful for me to leave the show around 3:00 a.m, go home and freshen up and set out for Abraham Adesanya Estate around 4:00 a.m. for the day’s work, with the car, it will make it easy for me to make it to work. “After driving the car round Ajah, I was on my way home at around 8:00 p.m. when I saw madam calling my set. She asked me where I was and I told her and she said I should come to her house that I was going to take her somewhere. I turned the car and I headed towards Abraham Adesanya Estate. “I was in Abraham Adesanya Estate Roundabout trying to enter the Estate, when a man double crossed me and RRS officials arrested me. They asked me where I took the car to since morning and I explained everything to them. “Madam has been very nice to me. She pays N35, 000 monthly salary. I am almost like her family member. I am always at ease with her and her family.” Ighalo, a tax consultant, said, “At about 8:20 p.m., I was seeing off my in-law and to my surprise, I discovered that my car has been removed from the park. “I immediately called few friends and one of them, got in touch with the operatives of RRS but it never occurred to me that my driver could take a vehicle I just brought from the church, with its key in my hand without my notice. Besides, he was not supposed to come to work on Sunday.” She queried, “Could he have come to my house without my consent and take away my car? The car has only one key. Where could he have gotten another key? Ighalo continued: “I called him to ask him where he is and he told me that he was at home. I told him to come and pick me to somewhere, he said okay. He came and we saw the car with him”, she explained. Confirming the story, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmos, stated that the suspect had been transferred to Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, for further investigation. “It is important to determine if the suspect acted alone or he has an accomplice”, she added.