Police utilizing my vehicle for patrol since 2015 – 62-year-old machine operator

Photo from punch

Sixty-two-year-old retired machine operator Matthew Oboro recounts to Ajibade Omape how his car was stolen, subsequently recovered by the police in Warri, Delta State, after he paid some money, only to be converted into their patrol vehicle

When and why was your car stolen?

On 13th November, 2015, while I was participating in a program at Mercy Land Church along Jakpa Road. I had parked it near a clinic. I returned to the parking place after church, only to find, in shock, that the vehicle was not there.

I immediately ran back to the church to notify the pastor. I sat down with the pastor, and he prayed for me. He traveled to South Africa but first told me to report the theft to the police, which I did right away.

I was instructed at the police station by one of the officers to produce a picture of the stolen vehicle and give them all the details that they required in order for them to be able to identify it. I returned to the station with all the details that they requested, and they told me that I had to pay a fee so they could dispatch a note to the other police stations in the area to help them search for my car.

I kept visiting the station every other day after I filed the report, but each time, the officers informed me that they had not yet located my car.

What followed?

By that time, I had lost all hope of retrieving my car. Even others advised me to let go and forget about it. Two years after, however, still praying in hope that the police would return the car, I spotted the car parked at a roundabout. I was traveling towards Sapele Road with a friend on that very day.

I presented it to him and asked him if he thought that it was my stolen vehicle. For curiosity, I also asked if police officers would be capable of stealing a man's car and using it for themselves. My friend could not say anything, but I was even more convinced that it was my lost car.

I drove by the same point on another day with the vehicle's details in hand. The vehicle remained stationed at the same point. I was sure by then that the police were using it as a patrol vehicle. I immediately left the vehicle I was on, asking the driver and occupants to leave without me.

What did you do after you got off the vehicle?

As I walked across the street and reached where the car had been parked, I saw all the church stickers that I had left behind in the car two years ago. They were still in the car. I just stood there, stunned, and slapped my forehead with my hand a few times.

I asked onlookers to tell me who had abandoned the car parked at that location, and they told me it was the police. They were policemen from the same police station where I had filed a report stating my car had been stolen. I could not believe after reporting, they did not let me know the car had been recovered; rather, they converted it into a patrol car.

I approached the police officers that I had noticed by the car and told them that the car was mine. One of them asked for the car documents, and I gave them to him right away. The number plate had been removed and placed in the boot. The police officer who had asked for the car papers walked over to the boot to check for the details on the document I had given to him.

When he learned that it was the same one, he indicated that I had to accompany them to the station because the vehicle belonged to me. A lady who was sitting and listening to us told me not to go with them since something could happen to me. I called my son and made him aware of what was happening, and he went to the station, believing that I was there.

It was on the next day that I visited the station but was told that their boss was absent. On the third day, I met the divisional crime officer, who had just reported from Abuja. He attended to me and my son.

I told him everything that had occurred, and he took us to their leader, who promised us that his men had actually recovered the car but spent N115,000 fixing the car and that I should pay them that money to reclaim it.

I was shocked because my vehicle was in great shape prior to its disappearance. I told them that I didn't have the cash. The DCO asked me in begging terms. We left and proceeded home. I opted to pursue the case through court.

How much did you pay the police to assist you in locating the lost vehicle?

It was a female that was an investigating police officer in the station, though, when I recovered the stolen car, but I cannot remember giving them precisely the amount of money. Years went by, though I do remember paying them cash so that they could broadcast to other stations that my stolen car had been reported. 

What do you do for a living?

I am a machine driver. I operate machines used to move big pipes. But now, I am jobless. I am 62 years old.

What is the make of your car?

My car is a Volkswagen Jetta.

Did you ever go to court?

Yes. On July 19, 2018, the court also ruled in my favor and ordered the police to compensate me with N10m. The lawyer who handled the case asked me to wait for some processes. But in February 2019, the lawyer told me that the police had appealed, despite having no defense at the time. They just wanted to delay the case.

The case was later taken to an appeal court in Asaba. I went to see my pastor, and he took me to a senior pastor, who I appealed to to help me out as I did not have the money to pursue the case. The senior pastor offered to sponsor me and asked that I pay him back once I got what I wanted. The pastor stopped in the case and wrote a letter to the court.

In 2023, the Appeal Court fixed a date after my lawyer had written to them, but the case was adjourned three times and nothing has been done since then up to now.

Why did you believe the police appealed the case?

I do not know. The car is not theirs, and they have no reason to hold on to it.

What were you doing with the car before it was stolen?

I was driving it as a part-time taxi since I was out of work. I would go to different places to fetch passengers, and I also used it for my personal errands.

How has the loss of the car impacted you?

It affected me a great deal, and 10 years have passed since it vanished. My wife is away from the house today because I had nothing left. Life became very difficult because I could not earn any money anymore since the vehicle had been stolen. As I have explained above, I was using the vehicle in a part-time taxi operation.

What will you do next, as it is taking long to have your car returned?

What I will do next is what my pastor is also doing. I also want VeryDarkMan to be part of the case as he has been helping many people. Right now as I am speaking with you, I have just returned from church, and everyone is discussing the issue. Hence, I want individuals to help me with this problem because the police are victimizing and demeaning me. They believe that I do not have anyone to help me and, therefore, want to oppress me for my wealth; they want to frustrate and intimidate me.

How did your family react to this development?

They are not pleased. There is nothing they can do because they realize that this is a case of oppression. Yes, the police are oppressing me. My lawyer has told me to wait for the Appeal Court to fix a date because they have not fixed one for judgment.

Do you want the Inspector General of Police to step in and resolve this case?

Yes, I have no issue. I would really appreciate any assistance or support right now. It would mean a lot to me. I am ready to accept any help, no matter how big or small. I don't mind if the matter gets to the presidency, to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, so that he can intervene. I need help.

What advice do you have for the police, considering the manner in which the entire issue has developed?

I don't have any advice to the police since, as for what they did to me, I learned that if you do not have money or people behind you in this country, then they (the police) will treat you badly. I was disillusioned by the police as I handed them all the papers for that vehicle so that I could reclaim my car.

Police clearance of the vehicle was done in that same station. They never came near me when they had found the vehicle. They converted and used the vehicle for their own intentions instead. They used my vehicle to conduct raids and to transport criminals. I need help with this matter.