Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has paraded two young men suspected to have been involved in different criminal acts, especially snatching of cell phones within Jalingo, the Taraba State capital.
Briefing newsmen at the command’s headquarters in Jalingo, the commandant, NSCDC, Taraba State Command, Edwin Chukwudi Egwuja said the suspects, identified as Safianu Ahmed Dan-Anti aged 20, and Farison Hoseah, 22years were arrested in the early hours of 30th December, 2022 at an accident scene around NATO Junction within Jalingo metropolis.
The commandant who spoke through the command’s public relations officer (PRO), SC Samila Iliya, explained that an accident had occurred at NATO Junction in which a pedestrian was knocked down by a moving vehicle.
He said the accident attracted protest by the locals around the area when they discovered that the driver could not stop to examine the lifeless body of the victim who was knocked down or condole with the bereaved.
“In the issuing drama, the suspects came in their numbers with weapons and started smashing cars, snatching phones and wallets from the protesters and other people around the scene.
“One of our retired commandants who was plying the road also fell victim to the heinous act. They snatched his phone and collected his money. They did the same to a retired army captain who was also plying the road.
“Our men were called upon together with men of the Nigerian Army and they immediately swung into action to disperse the hoodlums but before then, they had operated for eight hours beginning from the hours of 8PM to 1AM before they were successfully dispelled that day.
“Luck ran out of them as we were able to use our intelligent unit to track these two suspects through the phone they snatched from our retired Commandant and got them arrested on the 30th December, 2022.
“Though their cohorts are now at large, we hope to get all of them as soon as possible and bring them to book,” he added.
The PRO revealed that the Taraba State Command of the NSCDC had earlier arrested other criminals during the festive period, including a case of a road safety officer who was attacked along with his younger sister by similar gang at Angwan Magami, Jalingo where their phones were snatched and huge amount of money collected from them.
While harping on the determination of the command to clampdown on criminal elements in the state, the PRO noted that the state commandant, Godwin Egwuja had fully activated the Rapid Response Team and the Special Weapons and Tactics Team who had been on 24 hours surveillance and regular patrol to nip in the bud the menace of phone snatching around the town.
Meanwhile, one of the suspects, Safianu Ahmed Dan-Anti who was arrested with the retired commandant’s phone, had admitted to have committed the crime while the other, Farison Hoseah, insisted that he had just been a victim of circumstance.
“I am from Nasarao, when we heard that a vehicle killed somebody at NATO Junction, we rushed to go and see things by ourselves. On reaching there, we saw a mammoth crowd protesting the killing of their relative, I only joined the crowd and I was moving with a stick in my hand. I did not steal anything, I did not commit any crime,” Farison insisted.
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