A young man of about 30 year-old, Hakeen Fatai, was, on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, caught by the residents of the Federal Lowcost Housing Estate, Sabo, Ikorodu, while attempting to steal a mobile phone set.
Oriwu Sun gathered that the owner of the phone, Mrs. Fatimah Adebowale, who resides at AB 15 street in the Estate, had just returned from a journey and had left her bag at the entrance of her house to buy some things at a shop close to her residence, when Hakeem showed up at the place and removed the phone after scattering the contents of the bag on the ground.
However, luck ran out of Hakeem before he could flee the scene as Mrs. Adebowale returned in the nick of time and found him at her gate entrance with her things scattered on the ground.
Having suspected that Hakeem had tempered with her bag, Mrs. Adebowale immediately asked him why he threw her things on the ground and he said that he thought that the bag contained refuse and that was the reason he brought out those things in it to see if he could get something useful from them.
Also, when Mrs. Adebowale looked through her belongings on the ground and could not found her phone, she immediately held Hakeem by his trousers and demanded that he provides her phone, but he denied taking the phone.
While both of them were embroiled in argument over the phone, other residents arrived at the scene and after listening to both sides, they ransacked Hakeem and found the phone on him.
After the phone had been retrieved from him, Hakeem was later handed over to one of the security guards of the Estate who later led him and Mrs. Adebowale to the Shagamu Road Police Station where statement were collected from them while he (Hakeem) was remanded in the cell.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Adebowale, speaking with Oriwu Sun, said that Hakeem has been operating in the Estate for quite some time now and that she was lucky to have caught him red handed.
She said that the incident was an indication that the Estate is prone to criminal activities and warned residents to be at alert at all times.
One of the security guards of the Estate, Mrs. Hassan Ibrahim, while also confirming that the thief (Hakeem) has been operating in the area for a while, explained that he was sometimes caught at church located at Ajisebiara Makkah street, opposite the Estate, where he had gone to steal chairs.
A female resident of the Estate who witnessed the incident, Mrs. Salawu, also confirmed that Hakeem has been operating in the Estate regularly.
She explained that the various entrances that lead into the Estate which are unguarded have been aiding criminals in having unrestricted access into the Estate and urged the Community Development Association (CDA) to urgently act in addressing the situation to secure the Estate.