The phone thief, left and his ‘receiving friends’

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

A twenty-eight year old suspect, Babatunde Ibrahim, who was arrested by the operatives of Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of Lagos State Police Command few days ago has confessed that he had stolen over 100 mobile phones within the Lagos metropolis.

The suspect, who was nabbed by the policemen along Abeokuta-Expressway, Ikeja axis, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria said that stealing had become his act since childhood.

He made this confessional statement upon his arrival at the RRS’ headquarters at Alausa, mentioning Sanni Azeez, 27, and Hakeem Kamoru,40, as receivers of the stolen items.

According to him, “the act of stealing has become part and parcel of me. I am a specialist in burgling unsuspecting members of public’s houses without their knowledge. I used to gain entrance into any house by cutting the door and window net with a razor blade. I derive pleasure in taking what does not belong to me.”

“Apart from house burgling, I also operate during a traffic jam most especially most areas prone to traffic congestion such as Ikorodu Road, Lagos-Abeokuta, Apapa-Oshodi Expressways and so on. The last operation I went was at Ilupeju where luck ran out of me on getting to Ikeja.”

During an interrogation, he explained that he entered the building through the balcony door which was left opened before proceeding to the victim’s room to steal three handsets, two Nokia and one blackberry phones with other valuables.

The suspect revealed that the receivers of all his stolen phones were his friends living in Akala Street in Mushin local government.

The suspect had stolen the mobile phones and other valuables at Ilupeju area before the Policemen suspected his movements along Ikeja upon seeing them during routine patrol on the highway.

“We noticed his suspicious movement upon sighting us. He wanted to drop his cross bag at one corner but when he found out that we have seen him, he bolted. But we made a hot chase and later caught up with him before Ile-Zik. We interrogated him why taking to his heels immediately he saw us, he could not provide satisfactory answers then we conducted a thorough check on his bag where we recovered the stolen items,” a top police officer who craved anonymity said.

The police said that his confessional statement enabled them to apprehend the receivers of all the stolen handsets in Mushin.

The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Superintendent of Police, SP Dolapo Badmus, said the suspects would face the Wrath of the Law for the offence committed.

The three suspects have been further transferred to Ilupeju Divisional Police station upon a request from the station’s Divisional Police Officer (DPO) to continue the investigation.