Thieves steal magistrate’s car outside court premises in Abia

By Ugochukwu Alaribe, Umuahia

A Toyota Corolla car belonging to a chief magistrate in Umuahia, Abia State, has reportedly been stolen from where it was parked outside the court premises.

Narrating her ordeal, the owner of the vehicle, Chief Magistrate Mrs Ngozi Pearl Lekwa of Court 2, Umuahia, stated that she parked the black Toyota Corolla outside the court premises along Finbarrs Road at about 9am before proceeding to her office for official duties.

The chief magistrate disclosed that she had intended to briefly leave the office later in the day to attend to some personal errands.

However, upon stepping out of the court premises shortly after noon, she discovered that the vehicle was no longer where she had parked it.

She further disclosed that a friend later informed her that she had seen the Toyota Corolla car being driven at high speed after exiting the vicinity.

The witness reportedly noticed a man behind the wheel but did not see the magistrate in the car.

She said, “My friend initially assumed the driver had been sent on an errand by the owner and therefore did not raise an alarm, although she found the speed at which the vehicle was being driven unusual. The vehicle was heading towards the Bende Road axis.”

The magistrate lamented that she had not authorised anyone to use the vehicle and still had the car key in her possession at the time she discovered the theft.

In a twist of irony, the magistrate disclosed that she had only a day earlier ordered steering locks for two vehicles as an additional security measure. However, only one steering lock was delivered, while the second one intended for her vehicle had yet to arrive before the incident occurred.

She gave the details of the car as registration number AA 579 NBB, engine number 2565542, and chassis number JTDR22E1D0247899.

The magistrate confirmed that the matter had been reported to the police for action.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Abia State Police Command, DSP Maureen Chinaka, said the case has been reported to the police and that investigations are ongoing over the incident.

She urged anyone with useful information that could lead to the recovery of the stolen item to volunteer such information.

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