LASTMA guards are fond of sleeping, says suspect caught stealing

A suspected thief, Mr. Hakeem Fatai, has told operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Lagos State Police Command, that he and his accomplice targets office of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA), Ojota, because they the guards were always sleeping.

Fatai used to scale the fence of the LASTMA office, to steal batteries from impounded Volkswagen vehicles. It was discovered that more than 20 batteries disappeared from the LASTMA’s office within two weeks.
Police said that Fatai was caught him while attempting to remove another battery from an impounded bus. He was picked up at about 2am at the weekend.
On his arrival at the RRS’ headquarters, the suspect owned up that he operated with an accomplice he identified as Yahoo, now at large.
Fielding questions from police, Fatai said he used to work with one Yahoo, who is now at large.
 Fatai said: “I’m responsible for the missing batteries. But I don’t work alone. We are a two-man syndicate. Our targeted vehicle is Volkswagen bus because its batteries can be removed easily without much stress. We don't usually go for trailer because its battery is protected with burglary. We have devised our operation to the extent that no one could suspect us while committing the crime inside the premises. We know the exact time to scale the fence because LASTMA security guards there are too fond of sleeping. We capitalized on their inefficiency to strike. My role is to scale the fence, while Yahoo stays outside to watch for people.”
Revealing while he took to stealing, Fatai said after the death of his mother 10 years ago, his father re-married and shifted his attention to his new wife. He decided to run away from home and fend for himself.
He said: “I went straight to Mile 12, where I met young boys like myself. I have been living in that ghetto since that time. I tried all sort of jobs but I was not deriving pleasure from them. Even before I finally left my father's home, he had taken me to where I would learn plumbing at Ajelogo, around Mile 12. Despite all that, I wasn't satisfied.”
Fatai confessed to have sold each battery for N2, 500 to a battery charger at Ogijo, a suburb of Ogun State.
His confessional statement led to the arrest of the receiver, Nofiu Oriade, 46.
The receiver of the stolen batteries, who professed ignorant of the crime, said that he never knew those batteries were stolen items.
Nofiu said: “I was ignorant of the sources of those batteries. I thought he was a scavenger who picked up any unused items from refuse dump. I didn’t know he is a thief.”