My wife’s madness forced me into crime, says father of five

*suspect: Why we target Toyota Camry cars

Juliana Francis

A father of five has told detectives attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Area J Police Command, Lagos State, that his wife’s madness forced him into crime.

The suspect, Mmawuike Christopher, 52, a commercial bus driver, was arrested with his partner in crime, Kazeem Ahmed 38.

The two men became friends after they met at SARS, Ikeja, where they were held for car theft. When they met, their spirits clicked.

Ahmed was arrested for the second time barely weeks after he was released from Kirikiri Prison. Ahmed was arrested the first time and remanded in prison for being in possession of a stolen car. His wife and younger brother are presently still in prison.

Christopher said that he has seen witnessed and experienced many sufferings in life, but his wife’s suffering, appeared to be the mother of all. Christopher and his wife have five children, but suddenly the woman became mentally unbalanced. Nobody could fathom the reason for her madness.

Christopher said he couldn’t stand to see his wife’s condition without breaking into tears. He started taking her from one hospital to the next. He also moved her to different churches and mosques.  Every move cost more money; every hospital, church and mosque kept collecting treatment and prayer fees without the woman getting better. Aside from paying for treatment, Christopher also had to pay for her feeding and boarding.

While battling to make life comfortable for his mentally sick wife, Christopher also had to ensure that he pays school fees for two of his kids who were in the university and for the other three in secondary school.

As the bills piled up, Christopher said that he didn’t know what else to do, than to take to crime. He started buying and selling stolen vehicles. The profit margin was amazing.

Although he had once been arrested, charged to court and remanded for buying stolen car, he didn’t changed his criminal ways after being released from Kirikiri Prison.

Today, he had once again, been arrested for buying another stolen car.  

He said: “I’m doing this because of my wife. My wife is not okay. I keep taking her to hospitals, but she’s not getting better and I just keep collecting money from me.”

The police said: “The gang specialised in removing cars from where they are parked. They target Toyota Camry cars, Tiny Light and Drop Light (Envelop). Ahmed had earlier been arrested by SARS Epe and transferred to SARS, Ikeja, for removing and stealing a car from where it was parked.

“Whenever he steals such vehicles, he would hand them over to Christopher. He is the receiver. He takes the cars to Port Harcourt to sell. Ahmed sells Toyota Camry car (Tiny Light), to Christopher for N200, 000, but the cost is N1.1m. Toyota Camry car Drop Light (Envelop) is N1.2m. but he sells it for N250, 000.”

Ahmed, a technician, married to two wives, said that he had once given one of the Toyota Camry cars (Tiny Light), which he stole from where it was parked to his second wife.

He told her it was his gift to her. He told her that he bought it for N500, 000.  The lady bought the story, hook, line and sinker. It when police arrested her that it dawned on her that her husband was a thief.

Before his present arrest by Area J Police Command detectives for removing a car parked at Awoyaya area of Ajah, on October 11, 2016, Ahmed confessed to have been just released.

He was released on September 5, 2016. He said that he went back to his old ways because he needed to raise N400, 000 to give to the lawyer that would assist in getting his wife and brother out of prison.

Recounting his exploits, Ahmed said: “I once removed two cars from Ijebu-Ode road, Epe. They were parked along the road. I used to remove parked cars at about 5am, after monitoring them for two weeks. I removed a car from Awoyaya area on October 11. I moved it to my area at Ikorodu.”

He was said to have parked the car at a mechanic workshop, waiting for Christopher to come and pick it, before they were both arrested.

Ahmed was arrested after the owner of the vehicle’s friend, saw and recognized the car it in a mechanic workshop. The man alerted his friend. Ahmed was caught.

Determined to catch Christopher, police instructed Ahmed to tell him that he had been arrested by LASTMA officials, along with the car. He was also told to tell Christopher that the LASTMA officials were demanding N10, 000 bribe before they would release him.

Police said: “Christopher left the exclusive hotel he was lodging, and armed with N10, 000, went to look for Ahmed. Ahmed was moved to Elemoro Police Station, from there he was told to call Christopher again and tell him that the LASTMA officials had released him. He told Christopher to meet him at Oshodi, in order to collect the car. Christopher refused, insisting there were too many policemen at Oshodi. They agreed to meet at Church Street, in Oshodi.”

Before Christopher got to Church Street, policemen have placed themselves in strategic positions. Some posed as residents, others as commuters. Less than an hour later, Christopher arrived in a charted motorbike. Needless to say; he walked into the waiting arms of policemen.

Police recovered a master key, specially made for Ahmed by a welder. They also recovered strings of Toyota Camry car keys. While the master key is expected to open any car door, the bunch of keys is used to attempt to start different kinds of Toyota cars.

Ahmed recounted: “My friend Femi, who is still in prison, initiated me into this crime. I didn’t know for long that Femi was stealing cars. He used to bring cars to my workshop, for me to open the doors and start them. Whenever I assisted him, he gives me N1, 500.00. One day, he was arrested and later released. I asked him why he was arrested, he told me.”

Speaking further, Ahmed said: “Yes, I went to a welder in Ikorodu to make the master key. I didn’t tell him the purpose of the master key. As for the bunch of keys, I paid N2000 for each of them.”

Asked why he targeted Toyota Camry cars, Ahmed said: “It doesn’t use sensor and sells fast in the black market.”

Ahmed, who said he was worried about his wife and brother, added: “They are prison because of me. I stole a Toyota Camry car, Tiny Light and gave it to my junior wife. I stole the car, repainted and changed it number plate. I told her I bought it for N500, 000. Police later arrested her. My brother was arrested because he was with me.”

Christopher said that after he met Ahmed at SARS Ikeja, they became friends. He was released in June 2016 and decided to pay Ahmed visits in prison.

Christopher said: “I was charged to court and remanded, but later released. I went to Kirikiri Prison to see him. He is my friend. When he was released, he came to look for me. He narrated his troubles to me. I swear to God, Ahmed knows how to steal! After he narrated his troubles, I told him that if he could get me a car, I would get him money.”

He added: “Get this right; I agreed to buy it from him knowing it was a stolen car. He didn’t use a gun to snatch it. This isn’t robbery! It’s the will of God that I’m in this situation today.”