Bureau De Change lands in prison over alleged $3,300 theft

By Paul Iyoghojie

The Police at the Lion Building Division, Lagos Island, Lagos have arrested a 50-year old Bureau De Change agent operating at Bristol area of Martins Street, Oseni Saddam for allegedly stealing the sum of $3,300 equivalent to N1,152,000 belonging to his business partner, Yakubu Idris.

Trouble started for the suspect when he allegedly approached the complainant to lend him the sum of $3,300 to sell to a customer to make profit with a promise to refund the money after the transactions same day.

The complainant, it was learnt obliged and lent the suspect the hard currencies.

Police alleged that the suspect later went back to meet the complainant to inform him that the customer, simply called Femi had disappeared with the money.

The suspect allegedly explained to the complainant that immediately he handed over the dollars to Femi to give him the Naira equivalent, Femi later gave him $100 from the money Naira, and that before he returned, the said Femi had disappeared with the dollars and that all efforts to trace him had proved futile.

After listening, the complainant was alleged to have told the suspect that he would not believe his stories because he never give any Femi his dollars and he went to report the matter to the Police leading to the suspect’s arrest.

After investigation by Sgt, Gboyega Oyeniyi and his team, the suspect was charged before the Igbosere Magistrate Court, Lagos on a two-count charge to wit: stealing.

Police Counsel, Cyriacus Osuji told the court in charge No L/21/2019 that the accused committed the alleged crime on 8 March, 2019 at Bristol, Martins Street, Lagos Island, Lagos.

Osuji informed the court that the complainant lent the accused the sum of $3,300 on trust to sell to a customer to enable him make profit to eke out a living and refund the capital back to him, but that the accused betrayed the complainant and stole the money and went back to inform the complainant that the customer he went to sell the dollars to had disappeared with it.

Osuji said that the offences, the accused committed were punishable under sections 411 and 287(7) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the alleged crime and Magistrate M.O Ope Agbe granted him bail in the sum of N1,000,000 with one surety in like sum.

Ope Agbe adjourned the case till 18 April, 2019 for mention and ordered that the defendant be kept at Ikoyi Prison, Lagos till he fulfilled the bail conditions.