“How bus driver, conductor connive to steal passengers’ phones in Lagos” – Victim
A driver and his conductor allegedly stole a passenger’s phone around Abraham Adesanya roundabout, but were later caught on Tuesday.
The unsuspecting passenger, according to Ndabai, was told to alight from the bus before he could realise.
Ndabai narrated the incident: “My cousin was on his way to work, he boarded a bus heading towards Lekki from Abraham Adesanya 2nd gate, the bus got to Abraham Adesanya round about and the driver said he wasn’t going again, my cousin got down only to find out his phone (Nokia Lumia 1020) was missing.
“He chased after them with a bike but couldn’t find them, he came back home and we logged on to Microsoft to lock and track the phone.
“They where at Lekki, they kept driving in and out of Lekki, we drove after them, the phone’s location only updated every 3-4 minutes, so before we get to their current location they had left.
“After about 2 hours of driving round we eventually caught up with them at Ikate, thanks to the traffic, I ran out to call the police officers stationed at the bus stop.
“They rushed with me to the bus, the driver almost ran me over when we asked them to get down.
“They denied taking any phone, we called the phone and could hear the ringtone, after a few mins of searching we eventually found the phone and
5 other stolen phones well hidden in a secret compartment under the driver’s seat.”
Ndabai further shared the alleged gang’s mode of operation.
“A driver, a passenger beside the driver, the conductor behind. They make sure you enter the front seat, the bus starts moving while the conductor is trying to close the door which never closes, they’ll tell you to help hold the door with both hands (one hand on the handle and the other on the door frame) the guy sitting beside you, starts shouting at the conductor (“give me my change now, you wan thief my money”) just to distract you while he is taking your phone out of your pocket, when he does, they tell you to come down that they need to go and fix the door,” he said.
“One of the victims came to the station to make his statement and claim his phone. He confirmed they used the same method on him as well.
“When we caught them they had a different conductor, so only the driver and his partner were arrested,” Ndabai added.
