Man narrates how he bought back his stolen iPhone for ₦50,000 after tracking it to Lagos Island.

A guy came to our space yesterday. We have a game space in Ikoyi. He came around, took this phone from the staff’s desk, and even played games with us because we were trying out a new game.

He said he was waiting for his friend, so while waiting, he joined us. I even made videos of him while he was playing.

When the guy left, I realised, Omoo, hope this guy never carry my phone? I quickly checked the video and saw his face. Then I opened my laptop and used Find My iPhone.

At first, my laptop couldn’t locate the phone because it had been switched off. Around 4 p.m., my brother called me and said, “Your phone is back online.” He st0l£ it around 1 p.m.

I checked immediately. My phone was on Lagos Island while I was in Ikoyi. I looked at Google Maps and saw it was just about 20 minutes away.

I said this one no be police matter. Make I carry soldier. Soldier asked me to bring ₦120,000. I asked, “₦120,000? What if I no see the guy?” He said I would still pay because he had r!sk£d his live.

I said, no worry to r&sk your live? If that’s the case, let me r&sk my own life and go myself.

I entered Lagos Island alone with the guy’s picture, showing people from one place to another. Eventually, someone told me they knew where the phone was. The guy had already sold it.

I don’t know how much he sold it for, but for me to buy it back for ₦50,000, you should know he sold it for a ridiculous amount.

A phone I bought for millions of naira, I had to pay ₦50,000 just to buy it back from the person he sold it to. The people I showed his picture to said the guy was into h@rd s&bst@nc£s. Na small remain I almost run m@d.

At the end of the day, Lagos is a w!ld place. If I didn’t know people, I would have just been moving around aimlessly yesterday. At some point, I started feeling like a tech guy because I was carrying my laptop everywhere, using it to trace the phone.

Apple really tried for me yesterday. But this isn’t just to tell my story. It’s to tell you all to be careful and always be aware of your surroundings…”