A suspected phone snatcher, Awwalu Gambo, has been arrested by the vigilantes on his hospital bed in Ikwa village, Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT.
A member of the vigilante group in the area, Danlami Yakubu, said the suspect was arrested on Tuesday, around 5:32 pm at a private hospital where he was receiving treatment after he escaped lynching from a mob at Unguwar Dodo in Gwagwalada, Sunday night.
He said the suspect allegedly stabbed and inflicted injuries on a resident, who was returning from church in an attempt to snatch the victim’s phone, reports Daily Trust.
He said a mob, who were attracted to the scene, attempted to lynch him after the victim raised the alarm but he escaped.
He said the suspect escaped before the vigilantes arrived at the scene, saying some members of the vigilante in Zuba were alerted and they later got intelligence that the suspect was sighted at a private clinic receiving treatment.
He said, “It was some members of the vigilante in Zuba, who got information that the suspect that escaped from Unguwar Dodo in Gwagwalada, after attacking a resident, has been admitted at a private hospital.”
According to him, the suspect is known to be notorious for phone snatching in the Unguwar Dodo area of Gwagwalada for years.
“The vigilantes were able to arrest one of his gang members, who picked him on motorcycle to Ikwa village where he was being treated for injuries he sustained during the mob attack,’’ he said.
The vigilante member said the suspect and his gang member had been handed over to security personnel in the area.
However, police in the area declined to comment on the arrest and referred our reporter to the FCT Police Command headquarters.
The spokeswoman for the FCT Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, is yet to confirm the arrest as at the time of filing the report.
