Man Raises Alarm After London Apple Store Flags Lagos-Bought iPhone as “Stolen”

A Nigerian man, Gbenga Samuel-Wemimo, has raised the alarm after staff at an Apple Store in Westfield Stratford City, London, allegedly flagged his wife’s iPhone, bought new in Jakande, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, as stolen during a routine trade-in attempt.

Recounting the episode on X, he said the device was later reclassified as missing and assigned “zero swap value,” despite proof of purchase.

He also used the moment to call for stronger business integrity in Nigeria.

Below are his full quotes, as posted:

“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.”

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… pic.twitter.com/FLyEH8hI3r

— Gbenga Samuel-Wemimo (@GbengaWemimo) August 16, 2025

The incident has sparked fresh debate about device provenance, international verification systems, and consumer protection.