A truck driver, Garuba Lawal, 36, has been arrested
for stealing 600 bags of flour on the day he was recruited by a haulage firm.
The suspect confessed that he was baited with
N2million and compelled to swallow a cowrie in order to carry out the job. He identified one of those that recruited him to
steal as Ismaila.
According to him, after he swallowed the cowrie, he
became a puppet in the hands of Ismaila, obeying all the man’s instruction.
The suspect was arrested along with Jimoh Adeleye,
Wasiu Azeez and Adeniran Jacob.
Lawal said: “Ismaila came to me just as I was about
to drive out of the loading bay. He asked me how much I have made since I’ve
been driving. I told that I just joined the haulage company. He asked me, if
you see N2 million, what would you do with it? I said I would quit truck
driving. He told me that he would introduce me to a deal.”
Lawal continued: “While Ismaila’s two other
colleagues were waiting in the Toyota Corrolla, Ismaila took me to a corner and
brought out a cowrie. He told me that I would have to swallow the cowrie as a
sign of bond between us. He said that if we divulged the secret between us, we
would die instantly. I took the cowrie and swallowed it. Immediately I did
that, I observed that whatever instruction he gave me, I obeyed it without a
second thought.”
Operatives of Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Ikeja,
Lagos State Police Command, arrested Lawal, not only for conniving with three
others to steal 600 bags of flour from his company, but also for cannibalising the
company’s truck for sale.
Police said that Lawal, after moving the bags of
flour, gave them to a buyer. He took the truck to Ilorin, Kwara State, where it
was dismembered and sold in pieces.
Lawal, who was recruited by the company the same day
to move the 600 bags of flour to a bakery in Ibadan, Oyo State, was baited with
N2 million by his accomplices to do their bidding.
Lawal, in company of the three accomplices diverted
the 600 bags of flour to Sagamu instead of its scheduled destination.
He said: “We entered Sagamu. It was very early in
the morning and I couldn’t identify anywhere. All along, they acted as escort
for the truck to Sagamu. One of them was in the truck with me because the motor
boy didn’t follow us. We put a new truck head, and they gave me N50, 000. We
agreed that I should drive the truck head to Kwara State in company of two
other members of the team to sell it off. We got to Ilorin around 7:15 a.m. on
Monday. I took the two guys to where I live with my wife. They promised to
return with my share of N2 million as soon as bank opens. They collected N15,
000 for hotel accommodation from the N50, 000:00 they gave me.
“When I didn’t see them that day and the following
day, I agreed with a buyer to knock down the truck into pieces for N450, 000. It was after we dismembered the truck, that
RRS operatives arrested me.
The management of the haulage firm, where Lawal
works, said it was yet to see his motor boy. It is feared that Lawal and his
accomplices has killed him.
Lawal insisted that the motor boy didn’t follow them
on the trip. The motor boy’s phone has remained switched off since the
incident.
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