Residents of Apo Resettlement in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the FCT have decried the snatching of handbags and phones by suspected hoodlums in the area.
Some residents who spoke to our reporter on Saturday said the suspected hoodlums mostly target their victims at night while returning from work or while walking to buy items at a nearby shop in the area.
They said the upsurge in the theft of handbags and phones has become a source of worry to residents, describing the situation as a serious nightmare. A resident of the area, Michael Ayuba, recalled how two residents were stabbed and had their phones taken away by hoodlums on a bike late last week.
"Just last week, two incidents happened when two residents were attacked with a knife and had their iPhones taken away by some hoodlums. And apart from that, another woman who is my neighbour was also attacked last week as she was returning from work when the hoodlums escaped with her handbag," he said.
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He continued, "It's like Apo Resettlement is turning into something else, as what we are hearing is happening in Kano, Kaduna, and Minna, Niger State, is gradually happening here, where hoodlums attack their victims and snatch their phones," he said.
Comrade Salihu Mahmud, the director of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), The Salute Nigeria Initiative (TSNI), who also spoke to our reporter via telephone on Saturday, expressed concern over the theft of handbags and phone snatching at Apo Resettlement.
He said not a day passes by without receiving reports of handbag and phone snatching by hoodlums in the area, saying there was a need for security operatives to extend their presence and operations to the area in order to quickly tackle the incident.
"I think the security operatives need to quickly address this matter before it gets out of hand to avoid what is happening in Kano and Niger states from starting here, where hoodlums stab their victims and escape with their phones," he said.
Mahmud further confirmed the latest incident, which he said happened on Friday around Zone A, Apo Resettlement, where a young lady's handbag was snatched by hoodlums.
He called on the new FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Miller G. Dantawaye, to create time from his tight schedule to visit the area.
"And I will also urge the DPO of the divisional headquarters in Apo to also enhance intelligence gathering and patrols as there are many villages around Apo Resettlement where some of these criminal elements come from," he added.
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A police source at Apo division confirmed reports of such incidents but said efforts are already on to track the syndicate and arrest the perpetuators.
