Phone snatchers send victims to hospitals

The rising cases of thuggery and phone snatching across the country has become a source of concern for many with most of them losing not just their phones but nursing scars for years. The problem of phone theft in the country is spiralling out of control, particularly in most city centres, and its surrounding areas. […]

The rising cases of thuggery and phone snatching across the country has become a source of concern for many with most of them losing not just their phones but nursing scars for years.

The problem of phone theft in the country is spiralling out of control, particularly in most city centres, and its surrounding areas. This threat has turned into a worry for locals, tourists, and the authorities. Phone snatching has not only turned into a crime, but it has also become a profitable enterprise for criminals. Weekend Trust reports.

 

Victims hospitalised

In Kano incidents involving either phone theft or violent clashes among rival gangs are now reported almost daily in several areas across the state as various locations are increasingly being marked as hotspots, especially at night—with residents advised to avoid those routes after dark due to the heightened risks.

Despite various efforts by authorities at multiple levels to curb the menace, these heinous acts persist. The perpetrators, mostly young men and even women, have developed various tactics to snatch phones—often at knifepoint or through collusion.

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This situation has caught the attention of the state government and security agencies, who are working to address the issue. Some blame the state’s political climate for fueling the rise of thugs, while others point to high unemployment as the root cause driving many able-bodied youths into crime.

Unfortunately, the menace is escalating. A source at one of the state-owned general hospitals revealed that victims of phone snatching and thuggery are treated daily with many arriving with deep cuts, and some requiring admission for severe injuries.

“This is my second year in the emergency unit, and the number of victims we receive is alarming. Young people, women, and even the elderly are brought in regularly. I’ve been in service for 19 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this. We must act fast before we all become targets,” the source said.

 

Living in fear

In many parts of Kano, people no longer feel safe making or receiving calls in public, especially in high-risk neighbourhoods where criminals operate openly.

Losing a phone today is not just about losing a device, it’s about losing a vital part of daily life. This is why many victims often risk injury to protect their phones.

Aminu Baffa, for example, was attacked a week after buying a new phone.

“I was walking near Kofar Mata around 10pm when my mother called. I answered without realising I was in a danger zone. Suddenly, three men with long knives surrounded me and said, ‘Finish the call and give us the phone.’ My mother overheard and told me not to argue. I handed it over. They walked away silently, and one of them returned a few seconds later to throw my SIM cards at me.”

Earlier this month, a 23-year-old housewife, Ruma Sha’aibu, was found in a pool of blood in her home in Farawa, Kumbotso LGA. The peaceful community was thrown into shock. According to her husband, Ibrahim Muhammad, the only thing missing from their home was her phone—suggesting that the motive was theft.

Another tragic case involved Malam Aminu Umar, a classroom teacher who lost a finger during a phone snatching attack along Kabuga Road near Bayero University.

Meanwhile, violent clashes between rival gangs continue to erupt in areas such as Yakasai, Sabuwar Kofa, Kofar Mata, Dorayi, and Sharada. These clashes have claimed many young lives and left others hospitalized.

 

What’s Fueling the surge?

Retired police officer, Sani Mohammad Asi, attributes the rise in crime to economic hardship and youth unemployment.

“I wouldn’t be mistaken if I said 70 per cent of Kano residents feel unsafe using their phones in public. The black market for stolen phones and drugs is thriving. Criminals know they can sell a stolen phone within hours,” he said.

 

Kano government responds

In 2023, the Kano State government, in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, launched several initiatives to combat crime.

One of them was the establishment of an Emergency Security Committee, headed by Dr Yusuf Ibrahim Kofar Mata, tasked with tackling security issues in the state.

Dr Yusuf Kofar Mata, chairman of the Taskforce on Peace Restoration and Youth Rehabilitation, said, “We’ve worked with community leaders, religious figures, and other stakeholders to neutralise notorious hotspots. The culture of silence is being broken as communities begin reporting criminals. We’ve recovered numerous arms and dismantled the infamous ‘Zangado’ black spot.”

“Some hardened criminals are now surrendering. One such individual, 20-year-old Umar Auwalu, a.k.a. Abba Dujal, confessed to murdering at least three people and stealing their phones.

“I’ve been doing this for 12 years. I don’t even know how many people I’ve robbed. I couldn’t sleep after my last attacked. I want the law to deal with me,” he told police.

 

Thugs stab Abuja victims

In Abuja, A 43 -year-old resident of Unguwan Dodo in Gwagwalada area council of the FCT, Abdullahi Nasir narrated how hoodlums stabbed and inflicted injuries on him and escaped with his phone when he was on his way to observe Subhi prayers in a mosque.

Nasir, said the hoodlums, four in numbers wielded knive and asked him to surrender his phone, saying before he realised what has happening, one of the hoodlums stabbed him in his hand and back.

 He said the hoodlums left him in pool of his blood and escaped with his phone, saying a resident who later found him bleeding, took him to a hospital in the area.

Nasir added that two trailer drivers who parked to rest were stabbed by hoodlums and their phones stolen.

He said he later reported the incident to vigilantes in the area, even as he accused some scavengers who reside in the area for being behind the attack.

“The case of phone theft is common in Unguwar Dodo here in Gwagwalada, as there is no day that passes without a case of phone snatching, “ he said.

Another victim, Shamsudeen Bala, who is a commercial driver and resides in Unguwan Kutunku in Gwagwalada, also recalled how some phone snatchers attacked and inflicted injuries on him in the area.

He said he returned from a trip and went to park the vehicle at his employers house around 9:45 pm and was on his way to his house when two young men on a motorcycle blocked him and forcefully snatched his phone.

He said in the process of trying to resist, one of the hoodlums pulled out a knife and inflicted injuries on him and escaped with his phone.

“Before I could raise an alarm the boys had escaped with my phone on bike,” he said.

Mrs Grace Adamilo, a resident of Bako village in Kwali area council, also recalled how some hoodlums snatched her hand bag containing an android phone and some money.

Adamilo, who owns a provision shop at one of the fuel station, said she closed from work and was on her way home when some hoodlums on motorcycle blocked her and snatched her phone. The spokeswoman of the FCT police command SP Adeh Josephine did not pick calls or reply to text message sent to her for comment on the incident.

 

Suleja too

 Suleja town in Niger State is notorious for phone snatching courtesy of the area’s popularity in businesses that attracts hundreds of traders and customers daily. Places like roundabout, ’Yan gongon, Kantoma bridge, and Murada junction are black spots where victims have had their phones stolen by thugs who use knives to harass them.

Aliyu Sulaiman, a resident narrates that thugs usually operate in gridlock, crowded places, harass passersby and people onboard tricycles, or bikes.

Sulaiman, however, noted that the menace seems to be on decline compared to about two years back, when the gang’s activities was rampant. He linked the positive development to a measure said to be taken by the Suleja area council authorities through a taskforce comprising vigilantes and some youth leaders, to arrest anyone caught committing the act.

 

Motorcycles aid crime

In Ilọrin, the Kwara State victims who spoke to our correspondent said the perpetrators mostly carry out the crime with motorcycles (Okada) including commercial vehicles.

 They complained that efforts to track some of the phones have not yielded results.

 It was gathered that some of the most notorious areas are, Offa Road, Murtala, Post Office, Challenge and some part of GRA, especially during odd hours.  

Narrating his experience, Mr Abubakar Mustapha, said he was on his way home around 8:00 pm when two guys on a motorcycle snatched his phone.

 “It happened around De Rock Hotel along Offa road, while I was walking by the roadside holding my phone and power bank. I only saw a hand and an okada and in a jiffy, my phone of just three months was gone.

 An Abuja based security officer who simply identified himself as Mr Raji, said he was pushed off a moving motorcycle on Offa road when some guys snatched his phone from him and pushed them into an gutter to prevent him from chasing them.

 “It was a near death experience but thank God that I am alive to tell the story. I suffered an injury on my legs and arms. The culprits were later arrested but the phone had gotten to the Republic of Benin. They, however, held back the SIM because of the huge amount they found on it before their arrest.

 Another victim, Ayo Motunrayo AbdulAzeez Morakinyo, said he was walking towards his car after Isha prayer at Murtala, when two guys on a motorcycle drove close to him and snatched his phone.

 “I just left the mosque and was engaged with my phone when they struck. I just heard Alaye, give us your phone and thought it was one of my friends. I was calling the name of my friend, I thought took my phone until reality dawned on me that these guys were phone snatchers. My friend who was watching made an attempt to chase them with his car but they were able to escape. I just bought another phone for overN200,00, you know gadgets are very expensive these days,” he said.

 He said he reported the case to the operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) who collected N20,000 to track the phone adding that they said the phone had not been switched on.

 An undergraduate, Miss Tosin Ola, who was assisting her mother in her provision store at Murtala, Ilọrin, said “her phone was snatched from her when two guys on motorcycle requested to buy something. “As I approached them, they reached for my phone and sped off. I was standing mouth agape, I couldn’t shout as I was too shocked and watched them ride off”, she said.

 The police spokesperson, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi SP, who lamented the situation, said victims, most times, don’t report these cases, thereby assisting the culprits to continue in their trade. She said the police need information to work, adding that “they have the capacity to do the needful on the issue”.

  

Lagos victims recount ordeal

 Mobile phone thefts are occurring on the streets of Lagos at an alarming rate, a situation which most resident sare worried about. Although daily official figures aren’t available, some victims who shared their experiences with our Correspondent alleged that not less than 100 phones are snatched from their owners in areas such as Mile 2 – Orile, Ajah roundabout, Stadium bus stop, Carter bridge, Costain, Iyana-Iba, Okokomaiko, Ikeja under bridge and Mile 12.

 Adaku Onyenucheya a journalist narrating her ordeal, said the theft of her phone last year made it the sixth of such incidents.

 She said the first one happened when she was in school in 2015.

 According to her: “I was on my way to school for an exam when two guys on a motorcycle snatched my bag. My two phones were in it. That was around 7am, I cried and shouted but there was no help.” She said.

  In all, Adaku told Weekend Trust that she has lost over N600,000 to different phone snatching syndicates since 2015.

   Folake Alabi, who resides at Agege, said, “It is so bad that even in broad day light, these boys rob people of their phones at gun point and nobody does anything about it. They walk around molesting people.

 “The boys are jobless, as you see them hanging everywhere, smoking indian hemp by the rail lines and waiting for any opportunity to rob people of their belongings. They know those who don’t live within the area and are strangers. These set of people are their target,” she said.

 Speaking furiously, Jude Okafor, a trader at the Trade Fair complex in Ojo said: “My phone was snatched from me at Iyana-Iba bus stop while trying to board a commercial bus to Ijanikin. I felt the guy’s hand in my pocket but when I looked back to see who it was I saw a crowd so I couldn’t identify the culprit.

 

Efforts to curtail the menace

On the efforts made by the Lagos State Police Command to tackle phone snatching and other crimes in the state, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said constant raids of criminal hideouts around the metropolis led to the arrest of over 303 suspects in 2024.

Hundeyin said all Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers (DPOs), were especially directed to identify areas and redouble security architecture and enhance their neighbourhoods and foot patrol within their areas to tackle this menace.

Contributions from Ibrahim Musa Giginyu, Kano, Mumini Abdulkareem, Ilorin, Eugene Agha Lagos, Adam Umar, Suleja, & Abubakar sadiq, Abuja