Car Snatcher..I Cannot Count How Many Cars have Stolen

A suspected car snatcher, Alhaji Kabiru Akorede, has given a shocking confession after he was arrested by the Lagos State Police Command

Akorede , who was nabbed by operatives of the special Anti-Robbery Squad in his residence at NEPA Quarters, Isashi, Lagos, during confession to the police stated that he could not count the number of stolen vehicles he has sold to people.

According to Punch newspaper report, the 42-year-old Akorede allegedly belonged to an eight-man robbery gang, who had gone to the Victoria Island area on 12 September, 2014 and robbed one Mr. Albert Omisore of his Toyota Prado marked, AAA 690 BH.

Investigation revealed that the vehicle had reportedly been delivered to Moses Ogbu, a gang member, who in turn, gave it to Akorede to re-fix the fittings of the vehicle such as the headlights and windscreens before eventual sale.

It was however, gathered that after the gang had been nabbed, Akorede was trailed by SARS operatives. He was subsequently arrested, while the stolen vehicle was recovered.

According to the police, while Akorede was still standing trial before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court, he went back into crime and he was caught once again at the point of re-fixing the fittings of a stolen vehicle.

While speaking with newsmen last Friday, Akorede, who said he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 2010, confessed that although he started selling stolen vehicles barely a year ago, he could not recall the number of the vehicles he had sold.

“I was working as a building engineer until 2013. I started receiving stolen cars last year. It was a friend, one Dada, who introduced me to the gang. Since I started with them, I used to sell the stolen vehicles along the Ile Zik area in Lagos.

“I cannot recall the number of the vehicles I collected, but they may not be less than 20. There were about three Toyota Highlander which I sold for N1.2m each. I also got four Toyota Camry, which I sold for N600,000 each,” the suspected car snatcher confessed.

Explaining why he went back into the car snatching job, Akorede, who is married with two children, informed that while the court granted him bail, Ogbu called him that the gang wanted to dispose a Toyota Prado, and the vehicle was brought to his place.

He added:“I decided to work on the vehicle so that I could conveniently resell it. It is true that I changed the fittings. I gave Moses N250,000 for the vehicle. I did this because I desperately needed money.”

Confirming the arrest of Akorede, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said that investigations are ongoing and that the suspect would be charged to court soon.