•Bandits trigger fear in Uyo residents; Citizens call on police to wake up

By Chioma Onuegbu

UYO—There is palpable fear in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, and environs following the incessant and worsening robbery attacks on the residents for some time now.

Apart from visiting residents in their houses to dispossess them of their laptops, phones, televisions, and other valuables, including cash, street robbery is taking on a frightening dimension.

My encounter with a phone thief — Mr. Andrew

For instance, penultimate week, a man identified as Mr. Andrew and a pastor at Winners Chapel Church in Uyo narrated to NDV how he nearly lost his iPhone to a hoodlum at the popular Plaza area.

Mr. Andrew narrated: “When I stopped my car around the former First Bank at the Plaza, I wound down the glass without suspecting anything since security agents are always stationed there. I disembarked from my car to open the door for someone sitting at the back to go down; little did I know that a criminal element was parading in the area.”

“I left my phone on the dashboard, not knowing that somebody was watching me. The whole thing happened in a flash because after opening the car door, I noticed a movement, and as I turned, I saw somebody removing his hands from the car.

Immediately I shouted to the young man, ‘Give me my phone’, and he said, ‘Which phone?’

“Angrily, I slapped him. He handed over my phone to me instantly and then took off. I saw him disappear into one compound. He would have succeeded in disappearing with my phone if I had not acted very fast. Those phone thieves always hang around that place, watching out for an unfortunate prey. And that incident happened between 10 am and 11 am on a work day.”

How they operate — Unyime, driver

•Bandits trigger fear in Uyo residents; Citizens call on police to wake up

By Chioma Onuegbu

UYO—There is palpable fear in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, and environs following the incessant and worsening robbery attacks on the residents for some time now.

Apart from visiting residents in their houses to dispossess them of their laptops, phones, televisions, and other valuables, including cash, street robbery is taking on a frightening dimension.

My encounter with a phone thief — Mr. Andrew

For instance, penultimate week, a man identified as Mr. Andrew and a pastor at Winners Chapel Church in Uyo narrated to NDV how he nearly lost his iPhone to a hoodlum at the popular Plaza area.

Mr. Andrew narrated: “When I stopped my car around the former First Bank at the Plaza, I wound down the glass without suspecting anything since security agents are always stationed there. I disembarked from my car to open the door for someone sitting at the back to go down; little did I know that a criminal element was parading in the area.”

“I left my phone on the dashboard, not knowing that somebody was watching me. The whole thing happened in a flash because after opening the car door, I noticed a movement, and as I turned, I saw somebody removing his hands from the car.

Immediately I shouted to the young man, ‘Give me my phone’, and he said, ‘Which phone?’

“Angrily, I slapped him. He handed over my phone to me instantly and then took off. I saw him disappear into one compound. He would have succeeded in disappearing with my phone if I had not acted very fast. Those phone thieves always hang around that place, watching out for an unfortunate prey. And that incident happened between 10 am and 11 am on a work day.”

How they operate — Unyime, driver

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A mini-bus driver, Unyime, disclosed to NDV how some criminal elements within Uyo now camouflage themselves as bus conductors, stealing passengers’ phones and handbags while on transit.

When a passenger asked Unyime why he turned down an appeal by a young man at the ‘Plaza area’ to join him as a bus conductor, he responded: “I only allow those I am familiar with to join me. When those criminal elements who claim to be conductors rob your passengers, the problem will be on your head.

“I have had the experience two times and have learned my lesson. Some of them you see here at the Plaza are hoodlums. The first time it happened, the passengers whose phones were stolen insisted I must replace them.

“Sometimes, some passengers will even think you are working together with these criminals. And that is how they give our transporters bad names in this town.

It is an issue that the state government and security agencies must look into seriously.”

How security agents aid crime in Uyo

A businesswoman, Mrs. Agnes Uduak, frowned at the rising cases of armed robbery within Uyo and environs, regretting that criminals allegedly released on bail fuel extrajudicial killings in the state.

She recalled how a businessman and non-indigene had reported to the police an armed robbery kingpin who led his members to rob a particular street within Uyo early last year (2024). But they released the kingpin about two weeks after arresting him.

“When the police released the kingpin from its custody, he walked freely on the streets and bragged. He started threatening the life of the businessman (informant) who reported him to the police. The threat forced the man and his family to pack out of the area for safety. How do you think armed robbery will abate with this kind of situation?

“As a Christian, I strongly kick against extrajudicial killings because sometimes innocent people are wrongly killed. However, people want the police to be aware of their responsibility. People want justice to be done whenever they catch a criminal and hand him over to the police by ensuring prosecution.

“Today, the residents appear to have lost confidence in the police to bring the hoodlums to face the full weight of the law. About two weeks ago, I read about how a notorious phone thief who snatched someone’s phone was arrested in the ravine by Eka Street.

“According to reports, an angry mob had successfully taken him to a secluded place in Uyo to roast him alive when a policeman came to his rescue. Kudos to the police as law enforcement agents, but we pray they do not release him on bail so that he will not come back to continue terrorizing people who are already facing hardship in the country.”

Flashpoints

The NDV investigation shows that the most affected areas in Uyo and some local government areas in recent times were the Abak Road, Idoro Road, Eka and Asutan Streets, Nwaniba Plaza by Oron Road, Afaha Ube Itam, Atiku Abubakar, and Akpautong village in Ibesikpo Asutan and Eket local government areas.

Last week, NDV overhead a security agent residing in Uyo telling his colleagues how his family lost their phones, laptops, and the only money in the house to an armed gang, which attacked their area at night

Police trail suspects – DSP John, A-Ibom police image maker

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Akwa-Ibom State Police Command, DSP Timfon John, said in a statement that the suspected armed robbers arrested in the Akpautong village could be part of the notorious gang of cultists and armed robbers terrorizing neighboring local government areas.

“Acting on credible intelligence, a surveillance team swiftly intercepted the fleeing criminals as they attempted to escape on a tricycle and motorcycles. Three suspects were arrested, while others managed to escape. Efforts are ongoing to arrest fleeing suspects,” the statement read in part.”


https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/03/phone-thieves-disguise-as-bus-conductors-in-a-ibom/