•Abuja robbery kingpin opens up
From Molly Kilete, Abuja
A 23-year-old and leader of a criminal group that specialises in snatching phones, handbags and other valuables from women in Abuja, has met his Waterloo. He opened up on their modus operandi after his arrest by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command.
The suspect, Abdullahi, confessed he has been in the business “for sometime now.” He said his group targeted and robbed only women because, “unlike men, they will not put up a fight when they are being attacked.”
He said they usually carried out such attack in public places such as markets, banks, shopping plazas, motor parks, bus stops, worship centres and other busy areas; using motorcycle for easy escape.
The suspect, from Borno State belonged to a three-man gang. He said they equipped themselves with locally-made guns, machetes, daggers and other weapons to carry out their operations.
Abdullahi and his gang, however, met their Waterloo after they attacked and robbed a female victim, Evelyn of Durumi village while waiting to board a taxi at Area 1 Roundabout, Garki District. Two of his gang members escaped but Abdullahi was arrested and is now in police custody.
Their victim sustained machete cut during the attack and on admission at the National Hospital, Abuja. Abdullahi would later tell the police he went for this particular operation to enable him gather transport fare to travel back to his home state of Borno.
He said he relocated to the FCT because his friends told him “there is much money here in Abuja” compared to Borno State. He confessed that, though he made good money, but he wasted it all without saving.
Asked how they operated: “We usually operated using a motorcycle. Three of us would be on the same motorcycle. We would drive round busy areas, like banks, shopping centres and even hospitals. When we saw a lady we perceived had money, we would drive close and snatched her handbag that is if the place wasn’t too busy.
“We also cut them with cutlass and hit them with iron on any part of the bod. This automatically forced them to drop off whatever they were holding on the ground. We would pick it and zoom off.
“We carried out our work early in the morning between 4:30 and 7:00, when the day was still dark. Then from 6:00pm to very late in the night. We sometimes closed early, depending on how much we made for that day.
“We attacked only women, men are too strong for us. Most times, they fought back when we attacked them. We learnt they usually carried knives and other weapons, which they used to defend themselves.
“We used to attack men when we first started but they engaged us in serious fight and made sure we did not snatch their phones and laptops. There were several instances when we robbed some young men and we nearly got arrested. They gave us the fight of our lives such that we had to run when people started gathering.
“It was not so with women because they did carry such weapons. Even if they did, they could not use it to defend themselves. Women are very soft by nature and they fear too much. They would not want anything to happen to their bodies especially their faces. We preferred to steal from them because they cooperated easily.
“I never felt anything because I was doing my job, my only means of livelihood. Besides. We took things that made us high. That way, we wouldn’t care. There was no feeling about robbing anybody. We just used cutlass to hit any part of your body. If they survived it, fine, if they didn’t too bad.
“After every operation, we looked for a quiet place to empty the bags. We would separate the monies from the phones and other valuables and sell them off.
“We had standby customers for the items. Sometimes, we would go to where they sell phones to dispose them as second-hand phones. We would remove money for fuelling of the motorcycle, for another day’s operation, feeding for the day and share the remaining equally among ourselves.
“I spent my share on women, drinks, clothes, GSM recharge cards and suya.