NATFORCE arrests telephone robber in Abuja

The National TaskForce to Combat Illegal Importation of Small Arms, Ammunition and Light Weapons has arrested a 22-year-old robber, Jubril Abdulhameed, after successfully snatching a telephone from a teenager.
The incident was said to have happened in Karu, a suburb of Abuja, behind the residential quarters of the Nigeria Intelligence Agency.
Items recovered from him included a knife, screwdriver and other sharp objects.
Abdulhameed‎, from Jigawa a State, had reportedly snatched the mobile phone of his victim (names withheld) and also attempted stab him in his stomach until the cry of the victim attracted passers-by.
Other members of the gang were said to have fled on motorcycle, popularly called okada.
The mob thereafter descended on him mercilessly until some operatives of NATFORCE dispersed the crowd and rescued him.
The suspect, who confessed to the crime, told journalists that he had been robbed of his mobile phone the previous night and when he saw his victim with the type of phone he uses, he decided to rob him too.
The FCT Director of NATFORCE, Festus Omoakha, said the suspect has been handed over to the police in Karu for further investigation.
According to Omoakha, Abdulhameed ‎belonged to a four-man gang, which had been terrorising the area, saying security operatives have commenced on the trail of the other suspects.
When contacted, the Divisional Police Officer in Karu, Tokunbo Afolabi, a Chief Superintendent of Police, said the case was under investigation.
Afolabi said: “The Police Public Relations Officer came around and I have furnished him with all necessary information.
“We have commenced investigation.
“The culprit has been interrogated and it was confirmed that he was criminally liable.
“But then, the PPRO will give you update.”