Suspected phone snatcher killed, set ablaze in Ughelli

A notorious phone-snatching kingpin terrorising Ughelli and environs has been caught by vigilantes and set ablaze in Ughelli, Delta State.

This is coming, according to sources, three days after another phone-snatching kingpin was gunned down by vigilantes and set ablaze along East-West road by Chicken Mat within Ughelli metropolis.

The deceased, said to be good at snatching mobile handsets, was allegedly nabbed on Tuesday morning after allegedly dispossessing his victims of their valuables at a building housing Kabaka Printing Press at Ekiugbo in Ughelli.

Witnesses said the suspect, whose name could not be immediately ascertained as of the time of filing the report, had sneaked into one of his victims’ Make-Up store at about 9.15 a.m with a toy gun.

The source said the owner of the store, who was vigilant enough to discover that the gun the suspected armed robber was carrying was a toy gun, grabbed him and screamed for help.

“We heard an unusual noise from one of the stores in the upstairs and we rushed to see what was happening only to meet a middle-aged man with a pistol rushing down from one of the apartments; then we decided to run for our dear lives.

“We heard the owner of the Make-Up store shouting “ole ole ole,” so people started chasing him as he ran into St. Theresa’s Grammar School premises. He met his match when Ekiugbo Vigilante team, who were on hand during the pandemonium, accosted him and engaged him,” the witness narrated.

Acting Delta State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bright Edafe, who was contacted via text message, has yet to react to the incident.

(Nigerian Tribune)