‘How robbers carted away N30m goods at Ikota Shopping Complex’

Suspects released on bail as probe continues, says Hundeyin

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Superior Mobile Investment Ltd and iClick Gadgets, Dr. Helen Eto, has narrated how robbers carted away goods worth over N30 million from her shop at Ikota Shopping Complex, which borders Victoria Garden City (VGC), Lekki Peninsula, Lagos.

The shopping facility is run by HFP Properties Ltd, while Finesse Security Ltd,
provides security in the complex.

Eto, who has been doing business peacefully at the facility for about two decades, said the robbers struck in the early hours of March 7, 2023.

According to her, the guards claimed that they forgot to lock the gate of the facility, allowing hoodlums to gain access to cart away phones and other goods from her newly restocked shop.

Lamenting her ordeal to the police in Ajah and Panti, Yaba, Eto said: “We took bank loan for the business plus our savings.

“We plead that the police help us to get to the bottom of the looting as our blood pressures (BP) have shot up because this is our main source of livelihood. A list of the goods looted from the shop is attached to my statements at Ajah Police Station and State Intelligence Bureau (SIB), Yaba.”

Corroborating the statement, her husband, Julius, who is the Chairman, Editorial Board of The Daily Times, said: “The robbery is shocking because the security gate is inaccessible even to shop owners at night.

“Our shop is a stone’s throw from the gate and it would have taken about two hours to cut through the shop’s security system.

“This makes us to see the guards as the main suspects. We were not immediately notified by the security firm or the facility managers (HFP) of the robbery, which we only became aware of at about 8:20 a.m. through one of our employees.

“Since the break-in on March 7 till last week, Finesse Security Ltd has not called to sympathise with us, but the firm has been evading our calls and texts to its Managing Director, whom we learnt travelled abroad after the robbery.

“We have been doing everything to support the police investigation despite our predicament and hope they will bring the culprits to justice,” the former Associate Editor of The Guardian added.

Meanwhile, Lagos State Police Command, yesterday, said it is still investigating the robbery.

Spokesperson for the Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, told The Guardian that three guards of Finesse Security earlier arrested in connection with the robbery were later released on bail, while investigation continues.

He said: “The case is in the State Criminal and Investigation Department (SCID) and investigation is ongoing.

“The security men there were arrested, interrogated and released on bail so, it is an ongoing investigation.”