Joseph Benjamin's car found thanks to social media

Actor and co-host of the Project Fame West Africa reality TV show, Joseph Benjamin’s car, which was reported stolen by armed robbers on Sunday, has been found.

The vehicle, a Toyota Camry 2007 model, was snatched in the Magodo area of Lagos at gunpoint and recovered by officials of Mansard Insurance Plc.

 Immediately after the incident, news of the robbery went viral on the social media as the fans, friends, colleagues and associates quickly relayed it via tweets, Facebook posts and BlackBerry messages.

Interestingly,  Benjamin was away in Aberdeen, Scotland, for the screening of   Tango With Me, Mamood Alli-Balogun’s film that gave him (Benjamin) breakthrough,  when the car was stolen from his friend, who was driving it at about 7 pm.

When contacted, Benjamin said, “I had just returned to London from Aberdeen for a photo shoot when my friend called and was hysterical on the phone. She said my car had been snatched in Magodo.

“She was crying her heart out. So I had to calm her down and assure her that there was no problem. Immediately, I called my insurance company, Mansard (former Guaranty Trust Assurance Plc) and informed them of the theft. And they told me not to panic that the car would be recovered in no time.

“Not that I doubted them, but I felt the urge to broadcast the news on BlackBerry just in case anybody saw it around. I also put my London phone numbers if anybody had information that could lead to the recovery of the car.

 “I was shocked when about 15 minutes later, someone called me to say the car had been found in the Ipaja area of Lagos and that they had demobilised it. The caller even said that the police was on their way to pick it. I didn’t believe it until my friend went to confirm that it was indeed true!”