By Ugochukwu Alaribe, Umuahia
A Toyota Corolla belonging to a Chief Magistrate in Umuahia, Abia State, has been stolen from where it was parked outside the court premises along Finbarrs Road.
The victim, Chief Magistrate Mrs Ngozi Pearl Lekwa of Court 2, Umuahia, said she parked the black Toyota Corolla at about 9am before proceeding to her office for official duties.
She said she later stepped out of the court premises shortly after noon, only to discover that the vehicle was no longer where she had left it.
According to her, a friend later informed her that she had seen the vehicle being driven at high speed out of the area towards the Bende Road axis.
The witness reportedly assumed the driver was acting on the owner’s instruction and did not raise an alarm, despite noticing the unusual speed of the vehicle.
“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,” she said.
The Magistrate said she had not authorised anyone to use the vehicle and still had the car key in her possession at the time she discovered it was missing.
She added that she had, just a day earlier, ordered steering locks for her vehicles, but only one had been delivered, while the second intended for her car had not arrived before the incident.
The stolen vehicle was identified as a black Toyota Corolla with registration number AA 579 NBB, engine number 2565542, and chassis number JTDR22E1D0247899.
The matter has since been reported to the police.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Abia State Police Command, DSP Maureen Chinaka, said investigations were ongoing and urged members of the public with useful information to assist in recovering the vehicle.
