Three suspected thieves who specialize in snatching of bags, phones and looting of shops in Aba, Abia State escaped death by whisker yesterday, after they were caught by residents who nearly beat them to death.
Eyewitnesses told Aba City Blog that luck ran out on the three suspects who were almost lynched if not for the intervention of police officers from the Aba Area Command Headquarters.
Aba City Blog reports that for the some months now, bag and phone snatching done by some criminals on tricycle is the order of the day in Aba.
The suspects were rescued from the hands of mob by police at Tenant road, a popular beverage, rice and grocery material market in Aba metropolis where they were being given the beatings of their lives.
“If not for police, we would have killed those fools. They have been snatching bags, phones and money forcefully from both buyers and sellers here. They always operate with Keke (tricycle).
“The other day, they robbed a woman of her hard earned money at Market road, last week it was them again at Azikiwe road by St. Joseph Catholic Church.
“Inasmuch as they may be different groups of them doing the evil act, these ones we caught today should serve as a lesson to the rest. They should thank the good officers that wanted them alive.
“As for us, we prefer killing them here because they’re wicked and lazy. Look at their ages? They’re young men who should get busy, but they want to get money by force,” Lawrence Okonta, a trader, Ugochuckwu Okafor said.
Another trader, Mrs. Ifunanya Anagboso, said she is always afraid of carrying handbags after witnessing how some criminals with similar strategies like the suspects collected a woman’s bag.
“My brother if you see the way they hit that woman and almost broke her hand, you’ll realize that those boys are not humans. I wish the police didn’t arrive here so fast, Aba people would have roasted them alive like pigs.
“How can everybody be working hard and some group of young men will think they have right to collect people’s money.
“If I were to be a man, I will beat them beyond recognition so that they’ll not even have legs to walk again.
“Trust Aba, if not for police intervention, hence they’ve removed their clothes, the next thing is to burn them because they deserve it.
“We all suffered the effect of Covid-19 and people are struggling to recover while those wicked boys are busy stealing from struggling people.”
When our reporter visited the Aba Area Command Headquarters clinic, some medical personnel were sighted treating the wounds of the suspects while waiting for other actions to follow.
A senior police officer who spoke anonymously to Aba City Blog said that police will carry out proper investigation on what really happened before deciding the next action.
