A Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, Gbenga Wemimo, has shared a shocking experience after discovering that a brand-new iPhone his wife purchased in Nigeria turned out to be a reported stolen device in the UK.
Taking to the social media platform X, Wemimo revealed that he had bought the iPhone last September for his wife at an Apple-authorised store located in Jakande, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
According to him, the decision to purchase the device in Nigeria rather than abroad was his way of supporting local businesses.
However, the couple ran into trouble when they visited the Apple Store at Westfield Stratford City Arcade in London to trade in the phone for a new model. Wemimo recounted that the store attendant scanned the phone and declared that it had been flagged as stolen.
How we almost landed in trouble over ‘stolen iPhone’
“My wife bought a brand new iPhone at the Apple store located at Jakande, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos last September. We decided to trade it in for a new one today at the Apple Store located at Westfield Stratford City Arcade (London) a few minutes ago Only God did not let them call the police on us.
The attendant scanned the IPhone and declared that it had been reported as stolen. Stolen from where? It was not a used iPhone It was new, purchased from an approved Apple Store and we have all the receipts intact.
The attendant saw our indignation and went ahead to consult with her superiors. They scanned again and they declared that it was reported “missing”. They adjusted their language from stolen to missing and told us it has zero swap value.
I was not shocked at all even though I should be. Nigerians like cutting corners for unhealthy gains and they always believe this is good business for them as long as they were able to make a buck. Somehow we were able to walk out of that Apple Store without any drama but I remember telling my wife that we would have had a lot of explaining to do if they had a policy that required that they must report such incidents to the police.
Nigerian business people must try to do better than this There is something called integrity, it has a higher value than the dirty gains they think they are getting by playing dirty. I have always insisted on buying things in Nigeria because it helps the economy but I can see the reason many prefer to shop abroad. We must do better than this as a people. -GSW-“
