One of the security guards, Hyacinth Lawrence, arrested by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Team, IRT, for stealing two vehicles, said he stole the vehicles because he was looking for money to travel out of the country.
Hyacinth Lawrence was arrested alongside Ernest Ogba for stealing a 2015 Toyota Hilux Truck and 2003 Toyota Corolla belonging to Green Gate Nigeria Limited in Sabo-Yaba, Lagos where they work as security guards. Vanguard gathered that the guards were arrested on December 26, 2018, by operatives of the IRT, at the popular Ladipo Spear Parts Market, Mushin Lagos, where they took the vehicles to be dismantled into spare parts.
Speaking after his arrest, Hyacinth Lawrence said “my uncle has a shop at Ladipo and I used to go there and I learned much about spare parts from him, but my ambition was to travel out of the country. There was no way I could make enough money that could take me out of the country then I decided to look for a job from a big company.
I wrote an application latter to Halogen Security Company Limited and they employed and posted me to Green Gate Nigeria Limited in Sabo Yaba where I resumed last December. I told my colleague, Ogba that I wasn’t there to spend much time that I only took up this job because I was looking for money to travel out of the country. He also told me that he was employed in November 2018 and he has no plan to work for anyone, then we started looking for how to steal from the company.
“We stole the vehicle December 23, 2018, which was on a Sunday and I took it to a compound where vehicles are usually dismantled at Palm Avenue Ladipo and we dismantled the Toyota Hilux truck first and we started selling the parts in bits. “We were yet to sell the truck’s engine and buckets before the police came and apprehended me.”
Police sources disclosed that the suspects connived with some spare parts sellers in Ladipo to steal the vehicles which they thought could be sold for N4million. It was gathered that the company reported the theft to Yaba Police Station and also sent a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, who directed his operatives at the IRT to track down the suspects.
It was learned that the IRT led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, went after the security guards and they arrested Lawrence and the mechanic, Lucky Ngbekume, who dismantled the truck, Clement Oche, the security guard at the gated compound where the vehicle was parked and dismantled, Afeez Akasaria and Victor Imeh, who brought some buyers for the vehicle parts.
It has become essential for employers to thoroughly verify the background of security guards and other prospective employees before hiring them into their homes or businesses. Our society is filled with impostors posing as cleaners, drivers, shop assistants, security guards, etc.
Register your staff today on KnowYourStaff. With our web and mobile applications, you can register to capture your employee’s biometrics on a central national biometric database to screen-out known offenders.
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