North Sydney man wants to know why his cars were set on fire

A North Sydney man is devastated after three cars he planned to ship to his home country were a target of arson earlier this month.

Olurotimi Oyeleye, who buys vehicles and exports them to Nigeria, was awoken by a phone call telling him the uninsured cars he recently bought were on fire. Oyeleye still doesn't know who cost him thousands of dollars in lost revenue, or why it happened in the first place.

It was on Feb. 11 at 5 a.m when Oyeleye received a phone call from an acquaintance. He said initially he didn't believe the voice on the other end of the phone. 

"So I think it was like a prank, so I dropped the call," he said.

Oyeleye said he was making a lot of noise running in and out of the house when he woke up his wife, Wendy.

"Going back and forth, forgetting the key, forgetting my wallet, forgetting this and that," said Oyeleye.

Because he was overwhelmed, Wendy drove to the parking lot where the vehicles were on fire.

The police were trying to put out the fire.

"I just had a bawl," Oyeleye said, "and I even went there crying because I was like, 'I've not done harm to anybody. I always go easy. I smile at everybody.'

"I understand I'm Black, so I always keep to myself as much as I can. I don't overstep my boundaries."

A 2013 Ford Explorer, 2010 Hyundai Sonata and a 2006 Toyota Corolla were burned beyond repair in the back parking lot of All-Star Auto in North Sydney. 

"I spoke to the gentleman the night of the fire and he was heartbroken that his cars were set on fire," said Lloyd MacIntosh, chief of the North Sydney Volunteer Fire Department.

MacIntosh said "we came to a quick conclusion that it wasn't an accidental fire."

The damage to the cars totals over $10,000.

Oyeleye buys dozens of cars every year that he ships to Nigeria from All-Star Auto's parking lot without ever driving them. The cars in his name are not insured before they are shipped.

Oyeleye also said he not only lost over $10,000 when the cars were set on fire, but had to send money back to someone in Nigeria who had already given him a deposit.

He said he has no idea why his cars were targeted, but, since the fires, he's received threatening text messages from an unknown person calling himself Stanley.

"Basically, he was asking me to pay another thousand dollars and he'd give me information about the guys who did this," said Oyeleye, who added that Stanley told him they would do it again if they weren't caught.

He assumed the text messages were a scam to get money and stopped communication with the unknown person. 

Oyeleye said he hasn't heard any developments from the police since the night of the fires.

Cape Breton Regional Police could not immediately be reached for comment, but MacIntosh said the investigation is ongoing.

"The cars were deliberately set [on fire] but, as to who set them, we're certainly uncertain at this point," he said.

Crime Stoppers Cape Breton is also offering money for tips that will solve the arson of Oyeleye's vehicles.