The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a hotel supervisor, Christopher Ogbu, after he allegedly escaped with over $4,500, clothes and a bottle of holy water belonging to guests, just three weeks after his employment.
The 36-year-old was said to have been employed at the Arc Reception Hotel, Ago Palace Way, in the Okota area of Lagos State and placed on a monthly salary of N20,000.
He reportedly sneaked into the director’s office same day he was employed and stole more than 15 duplicate keys with which he had access into the guest rooms.
The father of three was said to have started breaking into the rooms of the guests in their absence, and making away with their valuables.
According to PUNCH, the suspect, who hails from Akpugo community in the Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, fled the hotel in April after he stole $3,500 from his last victim, a South-African-based Nigerian.
He was said to have damaged his SIM card and thrown it into the river.
Our correspondent was told that Ogbu bought a Mitsubishi Galant car, ordered for second-hand clothes from the Benin Republic for his business, and rented a new apartment in the Satellite town area with his loot.
He was arrested by detectives at the State Department of Criminal Investigation, Yaba, four months after the incident.
The owner of the $3,500 which Ogbu allegedly stole on Sunday, April 12, Joshua Olasunkanmi, said he had seen off a female friend when he returned to his room and discovered his money was missing.
He said, “I always lodge in the hotel, and I had planned to spend a weekend there before travelling back to South Africa. He was the one that checked me into the room, and he said it was the only available room.
“On that fateful Sunday, I had seen off a female friend around 5pm and spent some hours with her.
“When I returned, I checked where I kept my money. To my surprise, I found out that the $3,500 I left before going out was no longer there.”
He said he reported the matter to the manager of the hotel, who referred him to the director, Mr. Ibe Alo, who was around at the time.
Alo told PUNCH Metro that he was shattered by the news because it was the fourth case within the three weeks that the suspect was employed by the hotel.
He said, “Two days after his resumption as the supervisor, the room of a relative of a senior police officer was burgled and some money stolen.
“A few days later, another friend of mine from South Africa had his room burgled. About $800 and a box load of clothing materials for his children were stolen.
“On April 8, while in the village for a very important function, I got a call that another room had been broken into and $200 stolen, together with a bottle of holy water from the Synagogue Church.”
He said he cut short his visit and returned to Lagos to investigate the strange happenings in the hotel.
Alo said he suspected Ogbu because such incidents were rare before his arrival, adding that he also directed security officials at the hotel to verify his credentials.
“But the following day was a Saturday and there was restriction of movement because of the gubernatorial election. We were planning to start the verification of his documents on Sunday when the man from South Africa reported to me that his $3,500 had been stolen in his room,” he added.
The suspect, who had got wind of plans to verify his documents, was said to have fled the hotel on the pretext of paying a visit to his sister.
The director said the hotel discovered that the information Ogbu supplied in the documents he submitted were false, including his name, address, hometown and marital status.
He said the incident made him sack all members of staff of the hotel and started a fresh recruitment with stricter standards to forestall a recurrence.
The case was said to have been reported at the Ago Police Station before it was transferred to the SDCI.
A police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Ogbu, who was a security guard in Afribank Plc guest house, had stolen the recommendation letter of one Onwuatuelo Emmanuel, an attendant at the guest house, which he used at the Arc Reception Hotel.
The source said, “The suspect’s name, address, guarantors, phone numbers, and other contacts he gave the hotel were fake. The house address, for instance, was occupied by a bottle water company, which had ceased operation about three months ago.
“Immediately the April 12 incident happened, he deleted his Facebook account. But we arrested four of his relatives and one of them took us to his house.”
Another source said the police discovered that the suspect had worked in several hotels in the state and had left under controversial circumstances.
“His sister said he had worked in different places and left without any reason. If we can dig further, we will certainly uncover more of his atrocities,” he said.
Ogbu told our correspondent that he regretted his actions, saying poverty pushed him into the crime.
He said he usually monitored guests at the hotel and entered their rooms whenever they went out.
“I joined the hotel in March as a supervisor and was placed on a monthly salary of N20, 000. I worked for just three weeks.
“I monitored the movements of guests to know when they would go out of their rooms. I would then go in with the duplicate keys I got from the director’s office to take whatever I liked.
“I rented a new apartment at Satellite town and bought a Mitsubishi Galant for N580,000. I bought used clothes at Cotonou, which were seized at the borders.
“I regret my action. I did it because I needed money to rent a house.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, Patricia Amadu, when contacted, said she would get back to our correspondent, but she had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
