Driver arrested for stealing his employer’s $50,000

A driver, Festus Chiukwuemeka, 32, who allegedly absconded with his employer’s $50,000, has been arrested in Cotonou, Benin Republic.



The driver was working with a Lagos-based Bureau de Change firm, Westron Finance Limited, when he allegedly stole the money and fled on 21 January, 2014.


The suspect was arrested and brought back to Nigeria by operatives of the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigerian Police, Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, western Nigeria in collaboration with the police from Benin Republic.

The PPRO of the unit, DSP Ngozi Isintume-Agu, said the suspect is a Mechanical Engineering graduate of Abia State University and hails from Umuoma Okpofe Ezinihite Mbaise in Imo State, southeast Nigeria.

Agu said the police traced the suspect to Cotonou, Benin Republic, after the Managing Director of Westron Finance Limited wrote a petition to the Commissioner of Police, SFU, and sought for assistance, alleging that his driver had absconded with the $50,000 he sent him to purchase from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lagos for business transaction.

She said that the suspect was arrested when he was trying to purchase a Hiace bus with part of the stolen money.

She said that during interrogation, the suspect allegedly confessed to the crime that the devil and greed pushed him to steal the money and he admitted that part of the money was with his wife at a village in Idiroko border area of Ogun State, southwest Nigeria.

The driver led the police to the village, where his wife identified as Blessing, was arrested and they recovered the sum of $15,000 and CF2, 620,000 from her.

Agu said the suspect will be charged to court after investigation.