‘I stole my boss’ car to attend Valentine’s Day party’

Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives have arrested a driver, Emmanuel John, for allegedly duplicating his boss’ car key and attempting to abscond with it.

John, 26, was arrested at Abraham Adesanya Estate in Lekki last Sunday night for alleged attempted theft of the Toyota Corolla car marked EPE 642 DX, which he planned to take to a Valentine’s Day party at Splash Hotel in Sangotedo, Ajah.

John had a week before his plan, cut the Toyota Corolla key without the knowledge of his boss, Mrs Flora Ighalo.

On Sunday afternoon when he was not supposed to be at work, he allegedly sneaked into the Abraham Adesanya Estate residence of his boss, and took away the car with the cut key.

RRS quoted John as saying: “I and my friend, Oscar, want to carry the Toyota Corolla to Splash Hotel’s Valentine Show on Sunday night. I persuaded Madam to give me the go-ahead to cut a spare key but she declined. A week before February 14, I duplicated the key without her knowledge in Obalende.

“Even though, she excuses me from work on Sundays, I sneaked into her residence 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 3am, go home and freshen up and set out for Abraham Adesanya Estate around 4am for the day’s work, but with the car, it’s going to be easy for me to make it to work.

“After driving the car round Ajah, I was on my way home around 8pm 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 at 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 me N35,000 monthly. I am almost like her family member. I am always at ease with her and her family

Mrs Ighalo, a tax consultant, said: “At about 8:20pm, I was seeing off my in-law and to my surprise, I discovered that my car, Toyota saloon, EPE 642 DX, 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.

“Could he have come to my house without my consent and taken away my car? The car has only one key. Where could he have gotten another key?

“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.”

Police spokesperson Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said the suspect has been transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

“It is important to determine if the suspect acted alone or he has an accomplice”, she said.