Destiny Otubanbo, a 27-year-old law undergraduate dropout, has been apprehended by the police for alleged theft and impersonation. He was arrested and paraded on Monday by the Lagos State police commissioner, Mr. Edgal Imohimi, over a complaint that he stole a Techno Camon X-Pro phone valued at N77,500 from one Mrs. Olumide.
The suspect, Destiny narrated to journalists that he was arrested for generating a fake bank alert by editing it to purchase a phone from a shop where he had been a customer.
Edgal explained that on May 24, 2018, the suspect approached a phone selling outlet at Ikota Shopping Complex Lekki, Ajah, Lagos. He said the suspect introduced himself as Mr. Adeleke, a legal practitioner and requested for a Techno Camon X-pro phone.
According to him, the suspect claimed he was cashless and wished to pay through telephone transfer. The supposed buyer was given the account details to which the said amount should be credited. After few minutes, he claimed he had credited the said sum. To prove he had, he showed a debit alert from Zenith account number 2110746005, titled, Desitny Ayo Adeleke.
“Believing it to be true, the shop owner released the phone to him and requested for his phone number. Unknown to her, it was a fake alert, the phone number unreachable and the account number non-existent.”
He said his men swung into action when detectives from FSARS and the local police component, got hold of his girlfriend, one Marian Amuche, whose pictures were downloaded from the suspects Instagram page.
Exhibits recovered from him are: two Techno phones; one iPhone, 10 SIM cards belonging to different networks and lawyer’s gown and wig. The said Marian Amuche led detectives to arrest Destiny.
The commissioner said Destiny confessed to the crime and that he had sold the phones to buyers he met online. He added that investigation is ongoing with a view to understanding the suspect’s modus operandi and discovering other crimes he may have committed through various SIM cards recovered from him.
