Female cleaner accused of stealing iPhone detained in Kirikiri

Precious Gambo, 25, has been charged with theft of an iPhone valued at N350,000 that belonged to her employer. She was brought before a Lagos Magistrate's Court.

Southwest Nigerian police have detained Gambo, who is accused of performing the offence one month after starting her job and fleeing, at the Maroko Division, Lekki.

The maid was charged with contributing to a fire at her employer's SPA Clinic by failing to turn off the sauna switch after closing time, which caused a fire outbreak and the destruction of SPA equipment.

According to the police, the cleaner's problems began when her employer, Miss Bimbo Ige, allegedly accused her one-month-old cleaner of stealing her iPhone worth N350,000 and fleeing to the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of Maroko Division, Lekki.

According to the report, the DPO quickly dispatched his top team, commanded by Inspector Austin Adefemi, to make a full effort to apprehend the evading cleaner and seize the phone from her.

The cleaner was apprehended by the police when they followed her to her friend's residence in Lekki and discovered that she had already replaced the SIM card in her phone.

Gambo, a resident of Plateau State, was charged with two counts of theft and behaviour likely to cause a breach of peace before the Tinubu Magistrate's Court in Lagos Island.

Reuben Solomon, a police attorney, said the court that the defendant committed the crime at her employer's SPA Clinic at 14 Mayaki Usman Street, Lekki Phase I, Lagos, between March and 8 April 2023.

Solomon told the court that by refusing to turn off the Sauna after business hours, the defendant contributed to a fire that broke out at her employer's SPA Clinic and destroyed equipment.

The defendant, according to Solomon, took her employer's iPhone 7 Plus before escaping to change the Sim card and evade capture.

According to him, the defendant was charged with violating sections 168(d) and 287(7) of the Lagos State Criminal Laws of 2015.

However, the defendant entered a not-guilty plea to the allegations, and Magistrate Amore released her on N1m bail with two sureties in an equal amount.

Amore ordered that the defendant be held in the Kirikiri female correctional facility in Apapa, Lagos until she satisfied the bail terms and postponed the case's mention to May 16, 2023.

Source