Phone, handbag snatching now trending crime in Abuja – CP
The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Sadiq Bello, has said cell-phone and handbag snatching has become the most prevalent crime in the capital city.
While parading 37 suspects arrested for various crimes at the command headquarters yesterday, Bello said the command has recorded modest successes in arresting some of the suspects.
The CP said four of the suspects, Manu Abdullahi, Musilimu Abba, Yahaya Musa and Shagari Ibrahim, were arrested as notorious phone and handbag snatchers by the Lugbe division of the command.
“Abdullahi was arrested on October 27, 2017 when he attacked his victim with a cutlass and robbed him of his Infinix phone. The phone and cutlass used by the suspect have been recovered.
“Police operatives foiled an attempt by Abba to rob his victim of her phone around FHA Car wash, Lugbe and the knife used by the suspect has been recovered.
“Ibrahim was arrested at Banex junction after he attacked his victim and attempted to rob him of his phone and other valuables. Three handsets were recovered from him,” he said.
The CP said the command’s improvement on visibility policing that is more pronounced around speed breaker (bumps) and traffic intersections, contributed to the reduction in cases of handbag and cell phone snatching.
He said of 37 suspects paraded, 25 were arrested in connection with armed robbery, car snatching and theft; 10 were suspected handbag and cell-phone snatchers and two were suspected vandals.
Seven firearms, nine ammunitions, eight cars, six motorcycles, six mobile phones and handbags, and N10,650 were items recovered, he added.
He said while the suspects would be charged to court once investigations were concluded, members of the public should be very conscious of their security “to avoid falling victims to men of the underworld that are constantly exhibiting desperate attitudes to strip members of the public of their money and valuables.”