In Anambra state at the moment, there is a new twist surrounding how thefts are carried out in recent times. OKECHUKWU ONUEGBU reports that a number of persons have fallen victims of this misdemeanor.
As the economy bites harder across the country, some unscrupulous elements among the youth are devising means for survival through stealing of raw and cooked food as well as cell phones in Anambra state.
At Awka, the state capital for instance, cell phone thieves tricks their victims to shops, restaurants and eateries to indirectly get their consents before stealing handsets and other valuables from them.
Some criminals bring their victims as friends, then order for drinks or food while targeting their handsets and other valuables.
Narrating personal experiences
Miss Chidera Okoye, a female victim who was robbed of handset on Saturday October 28 at a popular drinking spot around Aroma junction shared her ordeal.
According to her, “I was going to Eke Awka market from Ifite Awka village in a tricycle when a co-passenger (young man) engaged me in a discussion and he told me he was equally going to Eke Awka too. When the tricycle (keke) stopped us at Aroma, he pleaded with me to assist him collect something from a friend at one restaurant at Aroma. As soon as we got there, he placed order for a bottle of beer for himself and a bottle of soft drink for me. Just few minutes after the drinks were served, the man said he needed to telephone the person on his location, but requested that I should assist him make call with my phone.
“I obliged him and as he answered the call, he moved out towards the exist door which I felt that he was doing because of the nature of their discussion. But as I wait and waited for him to come back, I never knew that the man had disappeared into the street with my phone,” she said.
The lady, who claimed to be a student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU) Awka, said it was when she came out to check if the man was still making the call that she discovered he had vanished into the thin air having probably boarded a bus.
“This type of crime is now gaining ground in Awka and Okpuno areas. Just three days ago, a similar thing happened at a joint in Okpuno, Awka South LGA and the victim said her bag containing important documents and money was stolen,” he said.
Sometimes in June, a female journalist simply known as Mrs Mary was equally robbed of her Android phone by suspected one-chance syndicate while in a tricycle (Keke) from Aroma heading to her home at Ifite, a village in Awka.
“When the Keke was moving, someone else stopped and I was asked to adjust so that the passenger will come on board. I moved to the centre and he came on board. All I could remember was that after I alighted at my bus stop, I checked myself and discovered that my phone was no longer with me. It was probably taken away by one of my co-passengers before I alighted,” she noted.
Mary’s encounter was similar to Mr Emmanuel Onwubiko’s experience around April 2023. Onwubiko, a technologist in one of the federal institutions in Anambra, was robbed of a wallet and Android phone while on a bus heading to Eke Awka through Ifite-Aroma axis. He recalled that two young men seated before him in the car made him to sit in between them and all he could remember was that his phone was no longer on him by the time he alighted at Eke Awka market.
He said, “Meanwhile, the young men stepped down from the vehicle before me. They came down around Emma Nnaemeka/Emmaus house. I didn’t suspect anything because I held my small Nokia phone making calls, while the Android was in my pocket. I want to advise people to make sure they hold all their phones in their hand and monitor it intermittently. That is how best they can escape the one chance operators,” he added.
Security counsel
A senior police officer who pleaded not to be named, advised residents of Awka and environs to be more careful especially with the coming of the festivities season.
This, according to him, is because criminals are changing tactics everyday even as he noted that the media and security agencies have the responsibility of updating the masses on new methods adopted by criminals inorder to avoid people falling victims.
More of the incidents
Besides, cell or Android phones theft, some thieves are currently going after food stuffs, drinks and beverages around Aroma and other parts of Awka. A fortnight ago, a young man was caught by Peez Pharmacy and Supermarket located at the same Aroma junction. His offence was that he was caught early Saturday on October 28, 2023 morning vandalising Peez Supermarket’s fridge (containing drinks and beverages).
According to an eye witness , “The young man was caught early today Saturday October 28, 2023 morning vandalising Peez Supermarket, Aroma Awka. He was tied to the electric pole with hands at the back. Crime in Aroma axis is becoming something else these days.”
According to the eyewitness account, when asked why he was engaging in the act, the suspect said he steals the soft drinks from the property and dash out to ‘friends’ for merrymaking. The management of the supermarket was overhead saying they have noticed that their fridges locked outside had been vandalised for long with many soft drinks usually discovered missing. The suspect was tied to the electric pole with hands back for some hours before he was set free.
On October 31, another source reported how unknown persons ransacked and took away some foodstuffs from her neighbour, a widow at Ifite.
The report posted on a WhatsApp group stated, “Good evening everyone please I’ll like to bring to our notice the horror, pain and terror inflicted on one of us by those horrible terrorists. Our sister Mrs Mba was robbed of all her stuff this morning. They used a saw to cut open and used chemical to melt the padlocks.
“They carted away all and I mean everything in that container, every drink in her freezer were taken away. It was a terrible thing to do to someone at this time in Nigeria. We all knew her predicament she struggles alone to keep and maintain her family without complaining. With anger and hate in me, I demand justice for her and that justice should be cruel to whoever dared to do this to her”.
A week before this incident, unknown thieves broke into another nearby Gelly’s restaurant, stole a television set and escaped without any trace of their probable destination.
Other shops including computer centres and journalists offices located at the same area had felt the impact of street urchins within this year, as they usually break in at night and make away with valuables in such facilities.
Hoodlums had also attacked POS operators at Aroma and made away with huge sums of money from the operators about two months ago.
Cases of car theft had also been reported at the social centre of Awka even though B-Division of the Anambra State Police Command is a stone throw from the scenes of these crimes.
We are not aware – Police
Contacted, the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Tochukwu Ikenga said he was not aware of those incidents but said, “Thank you for this information, I will escalate for necessary action, please.”
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