A woman, Adenike, narrated how she almost got herself in trouble because she repaired her damaged phone.
‘Nike, while sounding a note of warning to the members of the public in an audio note, described how she was lured by a man, who later turned out to be a policeman, through a phone call for job engagement. At the end of the day, she spent a whole day with the officers of the Nigerian police force.
The audio note, which is mostly in Yoruba, described how a normal day could escalate into a very eventful and stressful one.
According to her, after the close of work on that fateful day and while waiting for her househelp in front of her office, she received a call from someone who confirmed her identity and told her he needed her service.
The man at the other line suggested they meet in order to discuss the job and they both agreed to hook up at a popular restaurant in Ibadan, Oyo State.
On getting to the meeting point, instead of discussing work, they ended up discussing why a stolen phone was in her possession.
‘Nike explained that she bought the phone two years ago from a reputable shop with its carton and receipts in tact.
The policemen explained to her that they have been on her trail for the past two weeks and asked her to insert a code on her phone in order to check if the IMEI of the phone tallied with the one they were looking for.
An IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number is a unique set of 15 digits used on GSM phones to identify them. Because the SIM card is associated with the user and can be swapped from phone to phone, a method is needed to keep track of the hardware itself in case of theft or loss, and that’s why the IMEI was developed.
She reluctantly did and realised it didn’t tally with the lost phone.
Thinking her ordeal has ended, the police asked her if there was something out of place that may have chanced in the cause of using the phone over the years. She replied negative.
When the police persisted and downloaded what they had been able to gather about her for the past two weeks they have been secretly following her; her family house, her shop address, her day to day movements, place of work, she got frightened and had to remember that two weeks ago, the phone dropped and refused to power on.
She decided against using roadside technician and looked for a Tecno Care centre to get the phone fixed.
“I was told the panel was bad and had to be replaced,” she explained, “So I gave the guy N12500 he requested for to get it fixed.”
And that was it! The new panel her phone was then carrying belonged to the stolen phone.
The police explained that after the theft, the thief must have disassembled the phone and sold it in parts.
She took the police to the shop she repaired the phone and the technician was arrested.
“When they asked the guy to provide the number of the person that sold the part to him, he said he couldnt reveal his identity,” she said, “The police slapped him and ordered him to write a statement.”
“I also wrote a statement and I was allowed to go while the guy was held to continue helping the police with their investigation.
“I was saved the horror of reporting to the police station daily because I was able to scan the phone receipt which confirmed purchase two years ago and the phone pack to the officer in charge of the case.
“I hereby appeal to you to avoid patronising roadside sellers for phones and repairs. Go inside a shop, this way if an issue occur, they can be easily traced,” she concluded.
Listen to audio in Yoruba here:
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