A 22-year-old man, Lamidi Sikiru, who absconded from Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with a Lexus RX 300 Sport Utility Vehicle belonging to his master, has said that changing the ownership of the stolen vehicle was made easy for him by an official of the licensing office in Oyo town, Oyo State.
Sikiru confessed this to Metro during his parade at the headquarters of the Oyo State Police Command on May 31.
The state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Odude, had disclosed to Metro that the suspect was arrested in Oyo town by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the command on Wednesday, May 24, based on intelligence report.
Odude disclosed that the suspect left Abuja on December 18, 2016 with his master’s Lexus RX 330 with registration number YAB 938 MC and went to Oyo town where he registered the vehicle in his name at the motor licensing office, Oyo.
“The suspect thereafter sold the car to an unsuspecting buyer for N1.1 million,” the police commissioner added.
Metro gathered that after the unsuspecting buyer started using the vehicle, some vigilant members of the public noticed that the registration number engraved on it was different from the one on the number plate.
They were said to have informed the SARS operatives, who started an investigation by arresting the buyer, a pastor.
During investigation, the pastor was said to have disclosed that he saw the vehicle at a mechanic’s workshop where it was put up for sale.
He said that the suspect claimed ownership, with original documents from licensing office backing up his claim, which made him to buy the vehicle.
In an interview with Metro, the suspect admitted absconding with his master’s vehicle from Abuja. According to Sikiru, “my boss, an Igbo man, was using the Lexus SUV for car hire at Abuja airport and as charter vehicle by individuals.
“In December 2016, I drove the vehicle to Oyo with the intention to convert it to my own. I went to the motor licensing office in Oyo and told one official that I was tired of using the Abuja number. I told him I would like to use Oyo number.”
When asked whether the motor licensing official did not ask questions about the difference in his names and his boss’s names on the original document, the suspect said that no question was asked, as he paid a demanded sum of money, and all information were changed to his own.
“I sold it to a pastor for N1.1 million. I bought a piece of land for N180,000 and saved N400,000 in my cooperative society’s account. I spent the rest on myself and started working as a driver, plying Oyo to the Northern part of Nigeria.
“I felt I had covered my tracks well until I was arrested in my home on May 24,” he added.
The Commissioner of Police said that the suspect would be arraigned in court after the completion of investigation.
