Ade Giwa, the father of an Ordinary National Diploma student at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Richard Giwa, has accused his son of stealing the severance pay given to him by the last firm he worked for.
The father said Richard allegedly transferred the money into his bank account.
Punch Metro reports that the 22-year-old transferred the sum of N135,000 from the account through his father’s phone.
The father said he was charging his phone in the sitting room when Richard sneaked in and took it.
He said,
“Richard has done this criminal act before. He looks so gentle that when you see him, you will think he cannot commit such an act.
“The company I was working for was shut down in April 2017. We thought we would be called back, only for me to get a retirement letter in December 2017.
“In March, my boss sent N140,000 to me as part payment of my severance pay. Richard came home, saw the alert, gradually transferred N135,000 from the account and fled the house.
“I was shocked when I saw the balance in my account. So, I went to my bank and it was there that I was asked who Richard Giwa was and I said he is my son. My account statement was printed for me and I saw the transfer. I went to his mother’s house in Amikanle, but I was told that he was nowhere to be found.”
The 65-year-old, who noted that he regularly gave Richard money for upkeep, said he did not know the reason why he would steal from him.
He said the mother claimed not to know anything about the theft, adding that Richard threatened to deal with him if he did not leave his mother out of the matter.
Ade said when he reported the matter at the Alagolo Police Division, the police refused to arrest the mother, saying it was against the law to arrest a non-offender.
He lamented that he had nothing left and had been borrowing money from people to survive.
When Richard was contacted, he admitted to transferring the money, saying he used it to complete his school project.
The 22-year-old, however, claimed that he and his mother were neglected by his father.
He said,
“At first, I thought my father did not have money to take care of us. But later, I discovered that he just did not want to take care of us. He is always saying that I am not his son.
“My father is not computer literate; his phone is always with me. I realise that whenever he goes out, I will receive a debit alert on his phone. I told my mum that my dad had been withdrawing money; he just did not want to give us, but my mum said I should leave him alone.
“There was a day he went out and a debit alert message popped up on his phone and a friend said he saw him eating in a restaurant. He is not concerned about our wellbeing.
“Someone called me from school that I had to pay all the fees I owed and I asked my father for money. He said he did not have; it was my final year in school. I asked my mum, she had nothing to offer.
“Since I don’t want to have an extra year, I transferred N100,000 to pay for my school project and other fees. If I actually want to take his money, I will transfer everything and he will not see me again.”
Richard said his father did not notice that he transferred the money till after three months when he went to check his account balance in the bank.
He added that when his father confronted him about the money, he admitted to transferring it, adding that he told his father that he would pay back the money whenever he got a job.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti, said the matter was reported to the police.
He said, “It is true that the matter was reported at the Alagolo Police Station; it is under investigation.”
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