Late Ibrahim Idris, a resident of Yar’akwa in Tarauni Local Government Area of Kano went out on Monday to pick up a printed banner for his new business that he intended to launch the following day (Tuesday), but unfortunately, he met his untimely death, courtesy of suspected phone snatchers.
They stabbed him to death along Gyadi-Gyadi Court Road axis.
Now, his eldest sister, Abdulwahab Idris wants justice to prevail.
“On that faithful day, around 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm, he went to pick his banner along Karkasara. The next call we received was from a Policeman that Yar’akwa Policemen on patrol found him lying on the road and they rush him to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, AKTH.
“I got there and I was told we lost him. He just graduated from Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, in September last year. We want justice for Ibrahim”, She said.
Lorkyaan Blessing is another latest victim. The traumatized serving Corps Member narrates how three fierce-looking young men in Tricycle emerged from Sokoto Road and snatched her pause and smartphone at knifepoint on Sunday.
“I stood at Sokoto Road waiting for a tricycle, all of a sudden I saw this Keke coming my way. One of them drop and removed a knife and ask me to give him my pause. I got scared and screamed. He told me to shut up or he will stab me. So I dropped my pause and phone, he took it and they drove off”.
Similarly at Ring Road, Mustapha Hayatu Rabi’u, recounts how he was stabbed in the head when six armed phone snatchers invaded his family house.
“We were sleeping at home, then six boys enter the house through the fence with knives. They collect our phones with their pack, money, and gold. One of them even stabbed me in the head because I delayed before giving him my phone”.
These are just a few of the latest hundreds of phone snatching cases being recorded daily in Kano. From Brigade to Badawa, Zoo Road to Sabon Gari, Naibawa to Tarauni behind Graveyard, Gwale to Kofar Kudu, Bachirawa to Kurna Asabe, Kabuga to Kofar Mata, nowhere looks safe for residents.
No doubt, these concerns are a threat to Goal 16 Target of the Sustainable Development Goals SDG, which promotes Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions at all levels.
While many of the criminals usually have their ways, the reverse was the case for 14-year-old Umar Musa, who was recently arraigned at Bompai Police Headquarters.
He confesses how he and his two other suspects snatched over ten phones in their last five operations.
“I usually seats in the back with passengers. So whenever we picked up a passenger, I will remove his phone and passed it to the other guy seating with the tricycle driver. We will then drop the passenger and tell him we are not going his way.
“We do sell the phones for one Saifullah for N10,000 to N20,000 and we share the money with the owner of the tricycle. This is our fifth outing and we have snatched over ten phones”.
Commenting, Chairman of Tricycle Operators Association in Kano (TOAKAN), Sani Sa’idu Dankoli expresses concern over the failure of the judiciary to convict the suspects when caught in the act.
“This is very sad, please whenever this thing happens memorize the KAROTA number on the tricycle for easy tracking.
The only challenge we are having now is atimes whenever the suspects are taken to court, the suspects will be released because they were not seen with weapons during the arrest”, he said.
When contacted, the Police Spokesman, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa measures in place to curb the menace.
“The Command has reviewed its Anti Crime strategies, including visibility policing and rapid response to a distress call and continuous raiding of hideous and black spots to halt the menace in the State”.
According to the record of the State Police Command, 1,576 suspected phone snatchers were arrested in 2021, and more than 80 of them this year, but there is little or no progress on conviction.
“This should be the focus of the police prosecutors and judiciary to serve as a deterrent to others.” He said.
