Sunday, May 5, 2019

Telegraph Editor loses laptop at LASCOFED


…Nobody spoils his car, manager
Stanley Ihedigbo
The HP Laptop of Mr Vincent Eboigbe, the Deputy Editor of Saturday New Telegraph Newspaper, has been stolen at the Lagos State Cooperative Federation (LASCOFED), located along Wempco Road, Ogba, Lagos State.

The thieves burgled his car boot and disappeared with his laptop and bag, while he stepped into LASCOFED to eat.
The bag contained the laptop and other vital documents, including his university certificate. It was gathered that was not the first time important items, belonging to customers would be stolen.
According to Eboigbe, what happened to him on April 15th was shocking to him.  He said: “The laptop contained valuable information of many years.”
Recollecting the events of that fateful day, he said: “I left my office with my laptop in my car boot. I drove to LASCOFED to eat at about 8pm. I didn’t spend up to 20 minutes before I left and drove straight home. On getting home, I went to the boot of my car to take out my laptop and discovered that it was gone.”
He further said: “Immediately, I knew something had gone wrong. I didn’t stop anywhere that evening after leaving office. I drove straight from office to LASCOFED, then from there to my house.”
Eboigbe said that after mapping out his movement, he knew that the laptop was stolen at LASCOFED. He went to the place that same night and met the manager, who introduced himself as Mr Isaiah.
“I complained to him; he said that I should follow him. He expressed shock over the loss of my laptop. He called one of the workers, who were sitting on the bonnet of one of the parked vehicles,” said Eboigbe.
 He said: “Mr. Isaiah narrated what happened to me to the worker. Isaiah said that he suspected him (workers). He said that he knows something about the missing laptop. The worker protested his innocence. The manager was very furious. He appeared to be sure that the worker took the laptop or had something to do with it.”
He further explained that the worker and the manager nearly engaged in a fight over the stolen laptop computer.
“This particular worker tried to fight his manager, who he figured him on the laptop computer disappearance. For me, I was not interested in what they were doing; all I wanted was my laptop. It was getting late. I couldn’t go to the police station to report the incident.”
The following day, Eboigbe went to Pen-Cinema Police Station to lodge a complaint. Police went with him to LASCOFED. The manager of the place, who had earlier accused one of his workers of being behind the theft, changed his narrative. Isaiah insisted that there no time he accused any of his worker of taking the laptop.
 Eboigbe said: “After several arguments over the stolen laptop, the police insisted that I should go with them to see the Divisional Police Officer (DPO).  Later, the manager claimed that the laptop didn’t get stolen in their premises. But I’m 100 percent certain my laptop was stolen there. Even on that day, the manager said that was not the first time such a thing was happening there.”
Eboigbe said the atmosphere of security created by LASCOFED once someone drives through the gate was deceitful and shouldn’t be.
His words: “As I drive into the place, the security officers at the gate gave me a tagged card. When police asked the manager, he told them that they always have security guards parading up and down where customers parked their vehicles for safety. He also said that on the day my laptop computer was stolen, the security guard was off duty. The policeman asked the manager if one guard was off, who takes over his duty. The manager said that they have only one guard, who parades the compound, watching over customers vehicles. I observed that the place where their customers parked their vehicles was very dark. It is because it’s very dark, with no light to illuminate the place that some criminal elements do stand by customers’ cars, pretending they are owners. They have master keys to unlock the doors of the cars and steal valuables. They must find a way to either return my laptop or make some kind of compensation. I have given it a thought. As the manager said that, it was not the first time such a thing was happening there. If something is not done, it would continue. I’m trying to act so that someone will not fall victim tomorrow. I’m sure the management of the place would provide security to the place, ensure light all over the place or put Closed Circuit television (CCTV).”
Speaking with our correspondent, Isaiah said: “The man come to patronize us. He actually complained about loss of his laptop. At the end of the day, there was no evidence to show that his car boot was burgled or to indicate that someone actually stole his laptop and other items. This is the first thing such a thing is happening here. We have not recorded any incident of any customer losing their property in our premises.”

No comments: