Posted on: 08:35 Sat, 21 Nov 2015



A supposed convert who went to a
church in search of a wife material
has ended up stealing the vehicle of
a pastor of the church, Crime Reports
has gathered. The culprit’s deed was
exposed after he was arrested by the
Oyo State Police Command recently.

It was learnt that the principal
suspect, Wasiu Adetunji Lawal, led a
criminal gang which stock in trade
was to obtain cars from their owners
under false pretences, only to divert
and sell them. Other members of the
gang named by the police include
Wasiu Adetunji Lawal, Isiaka
Babatunde, Jamiu Rahman, Wasiu
Adelani and Abdulazeez Ahmed.

Disclosing the arrest to Crime
Reports recently during a press
briefing, the Commissioner of Police
in Oyo State, Leye Oyebade said that
Lawal went away with the Toyota
Sequia SUV belonging to one Pastor
John Akorede Aderounmu under the
pretext that he wanted to carry out
some repairs, only to abscond with
the vehicle.

“The suspect sold the vehicle to a
criminal receiver in Kaduna State
without the knowledge and the
consent of the owner, and refused to
respond to the owner’s calls when he
demanded for the return of his
vehicle.” Oyebade stated, adding that
this led to police investigation into
the whereabouts of Lawal and the
vehicle.

The police commissioner further said
that when Lawal was arrested, he
confessed to have sold the vehicle,
leading to the arrest of other
suspects. Exhibits recovered from the
gang include a Toyota Sequiao SUV,
13 vehicle particulars, nine forged
Customs paper, number plate with
registration number BH 299 BKA
and other documents.

Oyebade said that his command was
not unmindful of the fact that crime
wave usually increases whenever the
end of the year is approaching,
adding: “This is why we have put
various security strategies in place to
curtail the activities of criminals
within the state before, during and
after the yuletide. It was the positive
result of the strategies that led to the
arrest of these criminals.”

In an interview, the suspect, Lawal,
told Crime Reports that it was the
victim who asked him to sell the
vehicle and he had given him an
additional N400,000 to add to the
N800,000 which he realised from the
sale, for him to buy a new one for
the victim who believed his claim
that he was a dealer.

He confirmed that Pastor
Aderounmu was calling him but he
could not respond because of a
problem he did not disclose.

But the victim, Aderounmu, told
Crime Reports that “the suspect
(Lawal) came to our church, looking
for a lady to marry. After a while, he
got close to me. One day, he said he
wanted to help me repair something
in my car. He had earlier said that
he was an auto dealer.

“He disappeared with my vehicle for
three months before it was recovered
from the person he sold it to in
Kaduna. Before his arrest, I called
him severally but he always told me
that he would soon bring the car,
unknown to me that he had already
sold it. I never instructed him to sell
the car as he claimed.”

Source: Tribune