Salaudeen Abdulbaki, a domestic staff in a private estate, has confessed to bolting away with his employer’s Range Rover jeep, as a way of punishing him.
The suspect, who was arrested in his hideout in the Jabi area of Abuja, was about to sell the vehicle for N30 million when he was arrested.
The suspect, who was paraded at the Headquarters of Zone 2, Police Command, Onikan, Lagos, allegedly bolted with the unregistered vehicle four months after working as a domestic staff for one Chief Olasode Martins, in a private estate in Lagos.
According to him: “Before I started working with my employer as a domestic staff, he promised to invest in my future. He asked me what my salary was at my former place of work. I told him that I was paid N70,000 from the two jobs I was doing then. He said he would pay me N50,000.
“The first month, he paid me N50,000. He paid me N40,000 the second month and thereafter, he started treating me like a slave. I resigned my appointment the fourth month and left. I came back three days later with the plan to steal the car,” he confessed.
The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Zone 2 Police Command, Adegoke Fayoade, while briefing newsmen on the arrest on Tuesday, said the suspect was arrested based on a petition that was written by one Chief Olasode Martins on July 11, 2024, against some criminal syndicates who he claimed entered into his premises and carted away his white Range Rover SUV.
The AIG, who was represented by the Zonal Public Relations Officer, Ummar Ayuba, said based on the strength of the petition, he directed the Anti-Piracy Unit for discreet investigation and report.
“A team of police investigators from the Zonal Anti-Piracy Unit swung into action through technology driven policing, which revealed that it was the domestic staff, one Salaudeen Abdulbaki, who served the petitioner for barely four months and resigned who sent his friend one Mohammed Jamiu five days after he left; to the estate.
“The suspect, having been acquainted with his boss’ daily itinerary, constructively opened the gate and carted away the complainant’s vehicle knowing that the SUV was unregistered.
“Subsequently, the suspect, Salaudeen Abdulbaki was arrested in connection to the crime at his hideout in Jabi, Abuja and the exhibit, Range Rover SUV was recovered.
“He confessed to have masterminded the whole act with his syndicate and also admitted to be the person that called the estate security guards on the day of the incident with a new SIM card he had specifically gotten for the operation, impersonating his boss to allow easy passage of the vehicle after which the SIM card was destroyed before moving the SUV to Zuba for a month before moving it to Abuja where it was recovered,” he said.