Lagos photographer gets back stolen bag after CCTV footage goes viral

A photographer based in Lagos, Eman Pictures, has recovered his bag that was stolen at the Oriental Hotel. The bag had a MacBook Pro and four external hard drives inside. He offered a N500,000 reward for any information that could help him get his items back.

The bag was taken from the bride’s room on October 31 while Eman was working at a wedding in the hotel. The four hard drives held footage from five weddings that had not yet been delivered to the couples. This raised worries about losing important memories and the photographer's work.

After the theft, Eman Pictures went online to ask for help. He shared CCTV footage that showed a man entering the room, taking the bag, and leaving the hotel. Many people saw the footage and shared it.

In his appeal, Eman explained that the stolen items included a MacBook Pro M1 and the four hard drives with footage from those five weddings. He also mentioned the N500,000 reward for any useful information that could lead to finding the suspect and recovering the stolen items.

The appeal spread quickly on social media. Photographers, videographers, blogs, and other users shared the footage, calling for help to find the missing equipment. This created a large network of support for the photographer.

On Thursday, Eman Pictures posted an update on Instagram. He announced that the MacBook and all four hard drives had been found. Sadly, the files on the drives were formatted.

“I’m grateful to announce that my stolen MacBook and all four hard drives have been recovered. Although the hard drives had already been formatted, I’m thankful to have my equipment back,” he wrote.

Eman Pictures expressed gratitude to everyone who helped share the appeal. He said the reposts, tags, calls, messages, prayers, and other efforts were beyond what he expected. He thanked blogs, fellow creatives, friends, and even strangers for their support.

The recovery was confirmed by the event planner, Ms Deeeee, who was the first to raise the alarm on X. In her update, she wrote, “Every item has been recovered; even though he formatted the files, it can still be retrieved back. A big thank you to everyone who came through to help out. God bless you.”