2 domestic staff arrested over N243m jewellery theft
Two domestic workers, who allegedly connived and stole a Cuban diamond neck chain and two Frank Moller and Rolex wrist watches worth N243 million belonging to their employer, have been arrested in Borno State, two weeks after they were said to have committed the offence and fled Lekki, Lagos.
The police said they arrested the suspects - Alex Obinyan, 39, a cleaner, and Samson Ayuba, 29, a car washer - last Wednesday after they allegedly sold the Cuban diamond neck chain and wrist watches for N6m and N4m respectively in Lagos and Abuja.
The police were keeping the identity of the suspects’ employer, who sources confirmed is a popular celebrity with vast investment in Lekki, Lagos, under wraps. Our correspondent gathered that Obinyan had spent over eight years working and living with the celebrity in Lekki, before the incident.
Ayuba was also understood to have started working for the celebrity only two months ago after returning from Chibok, his home town. They were earning N80,000 and N50,000 monthly, respectively.
The Rapid Response Squad (RRS) brought the suspects and the alleged buyers of the stolen items to their Lagos headquarters last week. It was gathered that the suspects, who were captured on a closed-circuit television camera leaving the celebrity’s residence, confessed to stealing the items.
According to Obinyan, he and his fellow suspect sold the Cuban diamond chain in Eti-Osa, Lagos, for N6m, while the Frank Moller watch was sold in Abuja for N4m.
“I have been working with him (celebrity) in Lekki for over eight years. I was engaged in moving those valuables to the house wherever I found them in his car, but I never thought of stealing them.
“When Samson came and he saw me with the gold chain laced with diamonds, he convinced me that we could make a fortune from stealing them. Within two months of his stay, we planned to steal these things.
“Oga was in the sitting room when we stole the chain, along with a Frank Moller wrist watch and a Rolex wrist watch. Before escaping, we already got a buyer for the chain. We sold the Cuban diamond chain in Eti-Osa for N6m.
“The following day, we escaped to Abuja where we bought a Toyota Corolla. We sold the Frank Moller watch in Abuja for N4m to raise more money for our escape to Borno State, where we intended to start new lives and businesses”.
The police said they arrested the suspects in Maiduguri, in the two-room apartment they had rented.
Also arrested with them were the alleged buyers of the Cuban diamond chain, Haruna Abdullahi, and that of the Frank Moller wrist watch, Abubakar Buhari.
Recovered from the suspects were a Rolex watch, two new tricycles, a Toyota Corolla car and the sum of $2,200.
The suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Lagos, for further investigation.
The Commander of the RRS, Deputy Commissioner Olatunji Disu, urged residents of Lagos State to always do background check on all their workers before employing them.