A 50-year-old man, Moses Eke, has been arrested by operatives of the Oyo State Police Command for allegedly attempting to steal the brain box of a parked vehicle in Ibadan, citing financial hardship and the need to buy medication for impotence as his motive.

The suspect was apprehended on October 4 while removing the brain box of a Toyota Corolla with registration number BDJ 44 BG, parked opposite a popular pharmacy on Queen Elizabeth Road, Ibadan.

Spokesperson for the Command, CSP Adewale Osifeso, disclosed this during a press briefing, stating that Eke gained access to the vehicle using a self-crafted master key after noticing it was unoccupied.

“Upon gaining access, the suspect tried to start the ignition but failed. He then resorted to removing the brain box and other components,” Osifeso said.

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Passersby who witnessed the act raised the alarm, leading to Eke’s arrest and subsequent transfer to the Yemetu Division. He was later moved to the Command’s Monitoring Unit, where he confessed to the crime.

In his statement, Eke, a father of six from Kwale in Delta State, said he had travelled from Lagos to Ibadan to purchase medication for his condition.

“I was working at the port in Tincan Island, Lagos. I came to Ibadan to buy drugs for impotence. On my way out of the pharmacy, I saw the car and used a crafted key to open it. I removed the brain box, but a security man saw me and raised the alarm,” he said.

Eke revealed that he learned the art of car theft while working as a technician handling used imported vehicles at the Wharf in Apapa, Lagos. He claimed to have carried out five similar operations in Lagos, adding that this was his first attempt in Ibadan.

He also explained how he fabricated the master key: “I gave a man a screwdriver to file, then a welder joined a handle to it. It only works on old models.”

The suspect said he turned to crime due to economic hardship and the high cost of medication.

The police spokesperson assured that investigations were ongoing and updates would be provided in due course.

Man nabbed for car brain box theft in Ibadan blames impotence, hardship