Driver Allegedly Steals Employer’s Car Two Days After Being Hired

By Njideka Agbo

A driver allegedly stole his employer’s 2016 Toyota Camry just two days after he was employed, but police operatives in Ogun State recovered the vehicle from a hotel in Ifo within eight hours of the incident.

The driver, identified as Waidi Olajide Kolawole, allegedly disappeared with the vehicle after telling his employer, an Indian national based at Ilupeju Industrial Estate, Lagos, that he was taking it to a nearby vulcaniser to repair a faulty tyre.

According to the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Oluseyi Babaseyi, the vehicle was electronically tracked to Ifo following a report by its owner. The DPO of Ifo Division, Kamorudeen Olabisi, subsequently deployed surveillance and anti robbery operatives to locate it.

The police said the operatives traced the vehicle to a hotel in Ifo at about 8:30pm, where Kolawole allegedly fled with the ignition key after sighting the officers. His alleged accomplice, Monday Adetunji, was arrested at the scene.

Preliminary investigation, according to the police, indicated that the suspects allegedly approached a mechanic to remove the vehicle’s catalytic converter, but the mechanic declined. The recovered vehicle has been secured, while efforts are ongoing to arrest the fleeing driver and establish the full circumstances surrounding the alleged theft.

The Commissioner of Police, Bode Ojajuni, commended the operatives for the swift recovery and urged vehicle owners to use tracking devices and other anti theft measures. He also advised the public to conduct proper checks before entrusting vehicles, property or access to homes and businesses to others.