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Tag: phones

  • ‘One-chance’ suspect caught with phones, N61,000 cash

    ‘One-chance’ suspect caught with phones, N61,000 cash

    A member of a gang which robs passengers inside commercial buses has been arrested by Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives after dispossessing a victim of his phones and N61,000 cash.

    Ajibola Alao, 29, was caught after the victim, Benedict Asotie, shouted for help on being pushed out of a Vokswagen bus marked APP 820 XE.

    The “one-chance” gang  picked Asotie at Ladipo bus stop and was to drop him at Oshodi Under Bridge. But the gang did not and on sighting Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officials there, it ascended the bridge towards Oshodi Oke, where it dispossessed Asotie of his valuables and pushed him out of the bus.

    A statement by RRS yesterday quoted Asotie, 24, as saying:  “After throwing me out in motion, they threw my N100 fare beside me on the road, perhaps, for me to find my way back home. But, I didn’t give up, I chased the danfo bus.

    “Fortunately, I sighted a RRS vehicle marked Response 091 and I quickly alerted them and they chased the vehicle. They arrested Alao, who took all I had on me but the driver and the conductor abandoned their vehicle and escaped. All they took from me were found on him and some additional phones, which he disclosed to the police they took from previous victims of their one-chance operations”.

    Alao, according to RRS, said: “I have been in the business of one-chance since 2015. At a point, I stopped and began to pick-pocket, joining buses to Sango, Agege, Oshodi, Apapa and disembarking whenever I have fleeced commuters of their phones and money.

    “At a time, I was arrested in Mushin by officers from Olosa Police Station. My mum, who was very ill and on admission in an hospital at that time was brought to see me in detention.  She pleaded with the officers and secured my bail. She warned me repeatedly never to steal again.

    “She told me that if I have been using other peoples’ sweat to foot her hospital bills, I should stop it forthwith. She insisted that if I wanted to live long, I should stop stealing from people. She added that the consequences would be too severe for me if I go back again. Few weeks after the incident, she died.

    “I did it then because I needed N140, 000 to pay my house rent. This time, I got more than that from a week operation but I didn’t stop then. Now, I went back into it to help raise funds for my siblings so that they won’t follow the same path.”

    Police spokesperson Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP), said the suspect had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) at Panti, Yaba, Lagos Mainland.

  • Firm unveils projector phones, others

    The nation’s technology landscape is set to witness a revolution as Akyumen Technology launches a set of unique devises to the market soon.

    Giving this hint at the weekend was Mr. Aasim Saied, chairman and chief executive officer of Akyumen Technologies Corps.

    Saied who spoke on the sidelines of the E-Nigeria Summit in Abuja, said his company is launching the device, which has pen built technology that enables handy mobile phones to project without the burden of the usual large devices.

    The Akyumen boss while stating the unique selling points of the products, said: “Nigerian people love entertainment and love to do presentations. This device is the best of all, and of course, education is very important so, we create a tablet with both projector so we can educate student all over Nigeria.”

    According to him, the device is designed to ease the learning process with just one device required for a classroom, making it economically feasible than the capital intensive scheme of one device per student.

    Speaking on the product, its Sole distributor in West Africa, Dr. Chukwudi Ihenetu said, “We have solved the problem of battery explosion, our battery cannot explode. Our battery system can be charged just in two minutes and that can last another 4 hours of projecting and about 10 to 11 hours standby without battery running down.”

  • I sell stolen phones to beggars, says suspect

    A 19-year-old arrested last Friday by Rapid Reponse Squad (RRS) operatives has said he sells stolen phones to two beggars in Oshodi.

    He gave the beggars’ names as Mohammed and Kudus.

    Yusuf Ahmed from Offa in Kwara State told his interrogators that he and others teenagers in Oshodi survive by dispossessing passengers of their phones and other valuables.

    He said over 60 of them sleep under the Oshodi bridge at night.

    The suspect, who claimed to have been sleeping under Oshodi Bridge since he was 13, said even though he doesn’t go all the time with those  who rob, he knows all of them.

    RRS quoted him as saying: “The adults sleep in Ori-Pako. I was 13 years old when I started sleeping there. I keep my clothes there. I sleep between 8pm and 9pm. There are some of us who do not sleep at all. They are the ones that alert us whenever the police are around. There are equally some who do not sleep because they go from one place to another in Oshodi to rob. They rob late at night and very early in the morning.

    “After the death of my mother, my father abandoned us. He stopped taking care of us, leaving us to fend for ourselves. Even the school, he stopped paying the fees. I had to resort to packing granite to pay the school fees.

    “At a point, I couldn’t cope with the fee. I was just 12. I dropped out and decided to run to Lagos. Since then, Oshodi under bridge has been my home. Any phone I stole, I sold to Mohammed or Kudus. They are beggars in Oshodi. They buy most of the stolen phones from us.”

    The second suspect, Yusuph Agbaje, 25, from Oyo State, was arrested in Agege for stealing a Blackberry curve from a commuter.

    Police spokesperson Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP), urged parents to monitor the their children’s activities.

    The suspects, she said, have been transferred to the Lagos State Task Force on Environment for prosecution.

  • ‘We survive by stealing phones and robbing people in Oshodi’

    ‘We survive by stealing phones and robbing people in Oshodi’

    One of the two suspects arrested by the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command has disclosed that he and over 50 teenagers in Oshodi survive by stealing and dispossessing passers-by of their phones and other valuables.

    The suspect, Yusuph Ahmed, 19, from Offa, Kwara State according to a press statement by the RRS disclosed this to interrogators at the Squad’s  headquarters in Alausa, Ikeja on Friday afternoon.

    Ahmed, who was arrested in Oshodi on Friday after dispossessing a passenger of his phone, stated that he along with over 50 teenagers sleep in Oshodi under bridge and that it is from here they eke out a living by stealing phones and robbing passers-by of the valuables.

    Ahmed, who has been sleeping under Oshodi Bridge since he was 13, stressed that even though he doesn’t follow those who rob amongst them out all the time, he knows all of them.

    “I sleep in Oshodi Under Bridge. We are like 50 or 60 teenagers sleeping there. The adults sleep in Ori – Pako. I was 13 years old when I started sleeping there. I keep my cloth there.

    “I sleep around 8:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. There are some of us who do not sleep at all. They are the ones that alert us whenever the police is around.

    “There are equally those who do not sleep because they go from one place to the other in Oshodi to rob. They rob late at night and very early in the morning.

    “After the death of my mother, my father abandoned us. He stopped taking care of us leaving us to fend for ourselves.

    “Even the school, he stopped paying the monthly N600. I had to resort to packing granite to pay the monthly N600 for school fee.

    “At a point, I couldn’t cope with the fee. I was just 12. I dropped out and I decided to run to Lagos. Since then, Oshodi Under Bridge has been my home.

    “Any phone I stole, I sell to Mohammed or Kudus. They are beggars in Oshodi. They buy most of the stolen phones from us”, he stated.

    However, the stolen phone, a Tecno Y6, was recovered from Ahmed’s brother.
    The second suspect, Yusuph Agbaje, 25, from Oyo State, was arrested in Agege for stealing a Blackberry curve from a commuter.

    Responding to the development, the Police Public Relations Officer, Suprintendent Dolapo Badmos, Police would leave no stone unturned in get rid of criminal elements within the state, adding that, parents monitor the activities of their wards.

    The suspects have been transferred to the Lagos State Task-force.

  • SON clampdowns on substandard mobile phones

    As the level of substandard and fake products goes on the increase, importers and sellers of mobile phones and accessories have been urged to comply with the rules of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria [SON] or face prosecution after this month.

    “After this month, all proliferators of fake and substandard mobile phones and accessories will be prosecuted. Customers must obtain receipts and a 12 months warranty on purchased phones. Any phone unregistered with SON, will be seized and the offenders prosecuted,” warned the Acting Director General of the regulatory body, Dr. Paul Angya.

    He issued this warning at the stakeholder’s forum on Phone and Allied products held recently at the MAN House on Obafemi Awolowo Road, Ikeja.

    Speaking at the interactive forum which theme was aptly titled, ‘Standards, Warranty, Product Liability and Customer Satisfaction’, the DG lamented that more than 60per cent of mobile phones coming into Nigeria do not pass through the Standard Organization of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Scheme [SONCAP] that only about 40 per cent do that, adding that, “this is the way substandard products enter the market.”

    “SONCAP was established to ensure only tested and safe products are brought into the Nigerian market. All importers and manufacturers must comply with these requirements,” he cautioned.

    Decrying the level of substandard products in the market which he said has reached an epidemic level, the DG said that henceforth traders will be compelled to paste SON’s sticker on their shops as proof of having the regulatory body’s certification.

    While lamenting the high number of substandard phones in the market, the SON boss said: “The use and sale of substandard mobile phones and accessories in the country has been increasing to the extent that it has become a menace as it affects quality of service amongst other consequences.”

    Speaking at the Forum graced by many importers and dealers of mobile phones and accessories and other Stakeholders from the Computer Village Ikeja and from other parts of the country, the SON Acting DG, disclosed that the Agency was receiving many complaints from consumers about every Sector but most especially about the mobile phone Sector as it is a product being used by almost every one.

    “Every Nigerian is a victim of substandard and fake products. Everyone is complaining but highest number of complaints come from users of mobile phone and its accessories as even people in remote villages use mobile phones,” he said.

    At the highly interactive forum, he said that complaints about quality, warranty, reliability have flooded the Agency. “In the last six months, I do not know how many handsets I have changed. Some people plug on charger and it blows up while some people complain of phones heating up while they are in use” regretting that “the worst of all is that the adage that a customer is right does not operate in Nigeria.”

    Castigating traders for the shabby way customers are treated in Nigeria, the SON DG said that, the Agency has received many complaints about refusals of Sellers to exchange or refund money for products with manufacturers defect.

    Condemning a situation where Sellers print ‘Non refundable’ or ‘Goods received in good condition are non refundable’ the DG who is a Lawyer by profession said that such practices are illegal and will not exempt any affected Seller while urging them to desist from it.

    However, he emphasised that the purpose of the forum was to promote awareness on quality, warrant and product liability requirements, discussing challenges faced by the Sector while agreeing and sharing ideas on how to improve the Sector and the Nigerian economy at large.

    In his own speech, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, Chief Executive Officer [CEO], Nigerian Communication Commission [NCC], said the Regulatory body has identified counterfeiting of mobile phones as a major challenge in view of its negative effects on communication network operations.

    “In this light, we have commenced the development of necessary regulatory instruments and deployment of technical solutions to tackle this ugly trend” said the Professor Danbatta, who was represented by the Commissions Technical Standards and Networking Integrity, Mr. Kenneth Uzoekwe.

    “If you are in this business of substandard and fake phones, I advise you look for another business because NCC is coming out with a project that will bare unregistered fake phones from the Network.

  • Herdsman, 10 others held for phones ‘theft’

    Herdsman, 10 others held for phones ‘theft’

    A herdsman had been arrested in Lagos by Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives for allegedly burgling a shop and stealing 65 phones worth N2.5 million.

    He was arrested with a phone dealer and nine customers, the RRS said in a statement yesterday.

    The phones, RRS said, were stolen from the burgled shop in Ogba, Lagos.

    The suspected burglar, Musa Abdullah, 30, who hails from Kano, was arrested on Friday at Abattoir in Agege with the phone dealer, Yusuf Ibrahim for allegedly stealing the phones belonging to Nelson Mendie, a phone seller in Ogba, Ikeja.

    Mendie, 27, who operate, at 92, Yahaya Abatan Street in Ogba, had on  April 24, lodged a  complaint at Ogba Police Station, that his shop was burgled and 65 phones stolen. But the burglar, he said, left the phones’ packs and their accessories.

    Nelson said: “I reported the case to RRS on May 12. I gave them some of the phones’ packs. On Friday, they invited me to their office to come and see the suspects. I was shocked that a guy I never met broke into my shop. I saw 15 of my stolen phones. I am very surprised. But as it is now, I want my money back because those who bought the phones have been using them.”

    RRS quoted Abdullah as saying that he broke the shop’s locks with Sanda (a herdsman’s stick) which he uses to control cows, adding: “I saw the shop when I was taking a cow to Ojodu Berger. I broke into the shop around 1:30 a.m. I took all the phones. I left the phones’ packs with accessories in order to make carrying the phones easier for me. I sold all the phones at Railway Line Market in Agege for N150, 000.”

    Ibrahim, according to RRS, stated that he bought 15 phones with no accessories from Musa for N150, 000.

    “The phones are very expensive. Some of the phones cost nothing less than N75,000 each. I sold the phones to 15 people because I sell second hand goods. I regretted buying the phones from him,” he said.

    The 15 phones recovered include two Samsung Galaxy Cone (G355 H), two Samsung Galaxy Tab 4, Microsoft Lumia 430, Tecno Phantom A3, Infinix Joypad 8, two Infinix Note 2, three Infinix Hot, Infinix Hot Note, Nokia 225, 2 g Five Z.

    A customer, who bought Samsung Galaxy Tab and Samsung Galaxy Cone 2 at N35,000, claimed that he was told the phones were England used phones, adding that he  never knew  they were stolen phones.

    According to him, he noticed that the phones were new without their accessories, but the seller, Ibrahim, assured him that they were not stolen and that he would take responsibility if there is any problem.

    “I was even tempted to buy for my wife but for the paucity of funds on me, I bought two and I had to get chargers for the phones almost immediately,” he said.

    Acting police spokesperson Damasus Ozoani, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said there would be no hiding place for criminals in the state.

    The suspects have been transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

  • I trade in stolen phones, claims NURTW chief Elewure

    I trade in stolen phones, claims NURTW chief Elewure

    Rapid Response Squad (RS) operatives have arrested a National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) leader, Kazeem Bamidele, for allegedly buying over 4,256 stolen phones.

    Bamidele aka Elewure, vice chairman of Ajegunle NURTW, reportedly told the RRS that he received an average of 38 “clean” phones weekly from over 52 persons, who specialise in pick pocketing and one-chance operations across the state.

    Bamidele, 42, was arrested after RRS Intelligence team caught two suspected stolen phones users in Kogi State.

    The suspects were tracked to Kogi and arrested in connection with an abduction and robbery in Lagos.

    The team discovered that Elewure sold two BlackBerry Z10 and CAT phones collected from robbery and kidnap victims by the suspects.

    Elewure was traced to his shop at Boundary Market in Ajegunle where he was arrested; five phones were recovered from him.

    Elewure was quoted by RRS as saying: “I have over 52 boys who sell clean stolen mobile phones to me. On the average, I receive 38 ‘clean’ phones in a week. I have been in the business for more than two years.

    “Boundary Market in Ajegunle, where I have office and shop, is where they sell the phones to me and that is where the buyers equally get them. I know they are stolen phones. Nearly every guy in Ajegunle is involved in this kind of runs.

    “I buy Infinix Hot 2 at N10,000 and sell N12,000; Blackberry Z30 at N20,000 and sell at N22,000; Infinix Hot Note at N15,000 and sell at N17,000 and Samsung Galaxy X3 at N11,000 and sell at N14,000. I don’t buy iPhone because of its locking system”.

    “Some of the phones traced to Elewure were that of high profile members of the society as well as celebrities,” RRS said.

    The suspect, the RRS said, had provided information that would lead to the arrest of his ‘boys’, adding that most of the robbers lodge in hotels.

    It was gathered that the RRS have impounded two commercial Danfo buses used for robbery and one chance operations.

    Police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP), said investigation was progressing, adding that the case has been transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

  • I have stolen over 100 phones, suspect confesses

    Twenty-Eight year old suspect, Babatunde Ibrahim, who was arrested by the operatives of Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of Lagos State Police Command, has confessed stealing over hundred mobile phones within the metropolis.
    The suspect who was nabbed over the weekend  by the Policemen along Abeokuta-Expressway, Ikeja axis, said that stealing has become his act since childhood.
    He made this confessional statement at the RRS’ headquarters at Alausa, mentioning Sanni Azeez, 27, and Hakeem Kamoru,40, as receivers of the stolen items.
    According to him, ” The act of stealing has become part and parcel of me. I am a specialist in burgling unsuspecting members of public’s houses without their knowledge. I used to gain entrance into any house by cutting the door and window net with a razor blade. I derive pleasure in taking what’s  not belong to me.”
    “Apart from house burgling, I also operate during a traffic jam most especially most prone areas to traffic congestion such as Ikorodu road, Lagos-Abeokuta, Apapa-Oshodi Expressways and so on. The last operation I went was at Ilupeju where luck ran out of me on getting to Ikeja along,” he added.
    During an interrogation, he explained that  he entered  the building through the balcony door which was left opened before proceeding to the victim’s room to steal three handsets, two Nokia and one blackberry phones with other valuables.
    The  suspect revealed that the receivers of all his stolen phones were his friends living in Akala Street in Mushin local government.
    He  had successfully stolen the mobile phones and other valuables at ilupeju area before the Policemen suspected his movements along Ikeja upon seeing them during routine patrol on the highway.
    “We noticed his suspicious movement upon sighting us. He wanted to drop his cross bag at one corner but when he found out that we have seen him, he bolted. But we made a hot chase and later caught up with him before Ile-Zik. We interrogated him why he took  to his heels immediately he saw us, he could not provide satisfactory answers.  Then we conducted a thorough check on his bag where we recovered the stolen items,” the Police said.
    The police said that his confessional statement enabled them to apprehend his receivers of all the stolen handsets in Mushin.
    Confirming the arrest , the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Superintendent of Police, SP Dolapo Badmus, said the suspect will face the wrath of the law for the offence committed.
    The three suspects have been further transferred to Ilupeju Divisional Police station following a request from the station’s Divisional Police Officer (DPO) to continue the investigation.

  • Two docked for ‘stealing’ N4.2 million phones

    Two men, Isah Ali and Kashalla Hassan, have been arraigned at a Lagos State Chief Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ikeja, for allegedly stealing two cartons of brand new phones at Computer Village in Ikeja.

    Ali, 36, Hassan, 35, and others now at large, were accused of committing the offence at about 5am, on October 10, 2015, at No. 4, Otigba Street, Ikeja.

    The court was told that the suspects conspired with each other and stole the phones, valued at N4.2million, property of one Mr. Duru Remy.

    The Prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Samson Ekikere, informed the court that the offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 285 (7) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011.

    The accused, who were read the charges in Pidgin English, pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.

    The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Y. O. Aje-Afunwa, granted the suspects N500,000 bail each and two sureties in the like sum. She adjourned the matter till November 25 for trial.

     

  • Two docked for ‘stealing’ N4.2m phones

    Two docked for ‘stealing’ N4.2m phones

    Two men, Isah Ali and Kashalla Hassan, were Wednesday arraigned at a Lagos State Chief Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ikeja, for allegedly stealing two cartons of brand new phones at Computer Village in Ikeja.

    Ali, 36, Hassan, 35, and others now at large, were accused of committing the offence at about 5am, on October 10, 2015, at No. 4, Otigba Street, Ikeja.

    The court was told that the suspects conspired with each other and stole the phones, valued at N4.2million, property of one Mr. Duru Remy.

    The Prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Samson Ekikere, informed the court that the offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 285 (7) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011.

    The accused, who were read the charges in Pidgin English, pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.

    The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Y. O. Aje-Afunwa, granted the suspects N500, 000 bail each and two sureties in the like sum. She adjourned the matter till November 25 for trial.