The police in Lagos State have arrested two suspected pickpockets – Taoreed Ashimiyu and Kayode Jolaade – who allegedly stole mobile phones from commuters on a Bus Rapid Transit in the Maryland and Mile 12 areas of the state.
Thirty-four year old Jolaade told the police that he became a pickpocket after he lost his job with a Lagos-based private security company in 2015.
The police did not disclose the name of the firm.
Our correspondent learnt that the suspects were arrested by the Rapid Response Squad, Alausa, on Saturday.
Jolaade said he was forced to take to crime after losing his job with a Lagos-based private security guard firm.
He said, “I was once a security guard working for one of the new generation corporate security companies in the state. My appointment was terminated about a year ago. I tried all means to get a new job but to no avail. Then, I chose to follow pickpockets. I usually hide stolen phones and other items. Occasionally, I did steal when the opportunity came.”
On the other hand, Ashimiyu, 26, said he spent the proceeds from stealing on prostitutes, adding that it was Jolaade who led the policemen to him.
He said, “I love women. I spend my money on ladies. I smoke hemp and drink it too. I removed two phones from commuters during a rush at the Maryland bus stop. I wanted to remove the third when someone raised the alarm.
“However, nobody knew who stole the phone initially. It was Kayode (Jolaade) who caused my arrest. Before he came to join me at Maryland, I had stolen the two phones successfully. But when he came, we had to be moving in a pair. People who had known him in the area were monitoring us.
“When I went for the third victim, I removed money from his pocket. But I never knew the people who saw us together have started monitoring me too. But when I knew, I took to my heels. There was a crowd and they started chasing me. I ran and a truck on the road hit me. I was injured, beaten up before being handed over to the police.”
An eyewitness, identified only as Ayodeji, who claimed that his phone was stolen, said, “I knew when one of the suspects boarded the BRT. He stood close to me. It was when he jumped off the bus that I noticed that my phone had been stolen. When I alighted at the Ketu area, I quickly took another bus to Maryland.
“I then found the suspect in the middle of the road writhing in pain. I asked him the whereabouts of my phone, he told me he had passed it to his accomplice, whom the police later arrested at where he was hiding.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the arrest, adding that the suspects had been charged to court.
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