We stole the Camry car by mistake, cries 16-year-old student

Juliana Francis

While his school mates were burning the midnight candle, studying for the on going  Senior Secondary School (SSCE) WAEC, 16-year-old Sherif Alatise  was not only busy storming different night clubs in Surulere, he was also busy with his friends, stealing a car!

Alatise, a student of the Timi Comprehensive College, Surulere, Lagos, was actually supposed to be one of those writing the on going WAEC for senior secondary schools, but while his mates were writing a paper on April 11, 2011, he was at the Police headquarters, Ikeja, being interrogated by detectives. He tried to make them buy his story that he and his friends stole the Toyota Camry car by sheer mistake and thus ought to be pardoned.

He was arrested at the Idiraba Mushin axis, while he and his partners in crime were attempting to sell the car, which was stolen from where it was parked at Kilo, Surulere.

He was arrested along side Mogaji Suleiman, 25 and Umaru Yakubu 20. They wanted to sell the car for N200, 000.

The Nigerian Compass gathered that the plot was to steal a car was hatched, after Yakubu saw a Camry car key, hanging on an electric pole at Berger and took it. He decided to keep the key for reasons best known to him.

After going about with it for a week, he showed to  Alatise. They later saw a Camry car, parked along the road and decided to steal it.

Yakubu said: “The key had been with me for a week before I showed it to Sherif.  We were four that night that saw the car parked along the road side. I gave Sherif the key and he mistakenly put it into the door hole and it opened.”

After they had mistakenly opened the door, they put on the ignition and drove to a night club.

They later left the night club at about 2am, making a beeline for the home of Suleiman at Ojuelegba.

Suleiman said: “They actually woke me at about 3am. They told me that they were coming from a club and needed a place to park the car. I didn’t know they stole the car. I thought the car belonged to Sherif’s father who has about two cars. But it was later they confessed to me that they stole the car and wanted me to get a buyer for them! I immediately embarked on the task and found a buyer in my area, who was willing to pay N200, 000 for the car.”

But before Suleiman started scouting for a buyer, he acted like professional car thieves.

He was alleged to have searched for another number plate for the Camry, after which he removed the original plate and fixed the new one he had just found. He also threw away all the particulars of the car, found inside it.

Apparently suspecting that the owner of the car might have alerted police, the young men initially parked the car at Ajegunle area, Surulere, and then later moved to Mile12, after which they moved it to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), premises.

It was at the LUTH premises they were arrested, as they were showing the car off to the buyer. Two of the men are now at large.