*We saw JTF, police, soldier where we pay to collect stolen phone – victims
By Achadu Gabriel, kaduna
Until very recently, it was absolutely a taboo to believe that victims of phone snatchers and other mobile items runs to a particular street to pay and collect their stolen phones back, few minutes or days after they’re robbed.
They do this face to face with their culprits or vindicators in “Black Street” in Sabon Tasha area in South of kaduna in kaduna State metropolis.
Indeed, victims are made to pay through their nose with begging to collect back their stolen items or properties from the culprits in present of security personnel without facing any form of arrest or prosecution by the security for the dirty deals.
“Black Street” as popularly known and addressed according to the people in the nearest community, is a hot bed where operators of social vices and criminals in the environment gathered everyday when they strkes and therefore thrives and drives freely by mostly drug addictors and criminals.
Located in Sabon Tasha suburb town kaduna, Chikun LGA of kaduna State, black street menace is however not limited to Christian dominated area on Sabon Tasha community and environment alone, but cut across several other communities in the state, according to star witnesses most of whom were victims and survivors and pepertrators.
Narrating the recent ugly trend, an innocent looking but hard working lady victim, Happiness Peace Eze, told our Correspondent in an exclusive interview how the oddity occurred on Sunday 5th of April 2025, beginning from a place called Halima Junction.
Halima junction is along Sabon Tasha by garage road, a beehive of social night life centre and its synonymous with socially activities where most socialites who are familiar, gathered around all nights long chilling.
A gallery of sort and business hub for roasted and dried creamy catfishes, known to many people in the areas and even beyond.
In this exclusive interview, Miss Happiness Eze, a graduate of statistic, paint maker or producer, and POS business magnet, who was also a victim and star witnesses to neighbor’s travail, elaborated how a shop neighbor, Mrs. Mary David, fall victim of daylight phone stealing.
Her words: “I’m about 11 years here now in Halima junction, Ungwan Sunday, kaduna, doing my own business. The incident happen on Sunday 5th April 2025, around 2pm, when a man came to the shop where I do or produce paint, and asked of a particular chemical, but we told him it has finished.
“On his way out, he stylishly peeped into a neighbors shop, saw her lying down with her small kid sitting behind her. Few minutes later when he left, the woman discovered her phone was missing. He, perhaps crossover the woman lying down tired, and pick her phone”, Peace memorized and perhaps guesting.
Miss Eze also explain that “On discovering that her phone could not be found, the woman victim jumped out of her shop and started screening. Her colleagues sympathisers who rust down told her that they saw someone coming out of the shop but that they don’t really know what the person came to do in her shop.
Peace, in addition to the neighbors disposition noted that the suspected person first came to her shop and asked for chemical and left when they told her the chemical has finished.
Earlier, the woman reportedly declared that her phone and POS are missing when he ran out, screening, before others and Miss Eze ran to her asking about what happened to her, but she later saw the POS according to Eze.
Miss Eze continue that “Mrs. Mary David immediately ran to a neighbor and gave her ATM to withdraw all the cash she had in account, and also tried to block her bank account…….
“We now took bike under the bridge, and follow the direction where the suspect ran through. On getting to the place called Black Street behind waterboard, Sabon Tasha, opposite 911 bakery, they told us, can we really identify the guy if we see his face? We said yes because somebody saw him with his dressing, facial appearance.
“On reaching there the guys we met said they’re of different group, that they cannot really fish him out because it’ll turn to problem between the two group.
“But the only thing they can do, if the suspect has use the phone to buy market, especially Indian hemp and other drugs, they take, is to negotiate with the marketer to collect any amount he used to buy the market.
“We told them if it is something we can pay or negotiate we’ll do. They told us to seat down and buy Chelsea hot drink for them and we did, thinking the matter is over.
“Later, someone there said we should seek police officers assistance but we say no, that is not something that we required. After wasting our time, another person passing bye ask us and we explain. He directed us to go to JTF office.
“We went to JTF office and they told us the same thing, that if the guy has use the phone to buy market India hemp, and I told the JTF that this one your telling us market, are u people not here to protect us in our community?
“They said no, they can’t chase them away because the so-called politicians children sometimes come to the place to also buy the market, ie, the weeds and Indian hemp they take”, Miss Eze said.
She also said “They now ask us can we identify the guy if we see him, we say yes– on reaching the exact spot the guy is, we never knew that as they sneek him into a particular compound, they ask him to change the cloth.
“So he disguise himself with different cloth–singlet. when he came to steal he was wearing caftan and holding a Baco ba. So we could not identify his face or dressing, where they were seating down.
“But the group where we went to first time, the black street, they mention his name, so we stick to that name and say Bahago. The JTF said he know the person and say that he’ll negotiate with them to collect our phone for us but we are going to pay any amount he used to buy the market with it.
“We told him. We’re okay with that, if we can find our phone no problem. We came to conclusion and the JTF pointed the guy and say this is him. Immediately on asking the guy question, their gang leader said he has used the phone to buy weed and cocaine.
“For how much we asked. They said N25 000. When we drags and drags they gave us N15,000, to pay and we pay and they handover us our phone. They deleted everything and checked if they can use it to withdraw any money but were unable to operate the phone.
“They use a sharp object like razor to scratch the SIM card space to open or remove the SIM but as God could have it they were unable to operate the phone. We collect the phone, came back to our place on that same day”, Miss Eze narrated.
In view of the horrible experienced Miss Happiness Peace Eze and her victims neighbor, went through in the hands of the criminal gangs, expressed lamentations bon the of the fate of the poor petty traders and the state of kaduna and nation at large.
“But I don’t really happy about what’s going on in Nigeria, kaduna, particularly in our community in Sabon Tasha and Halima Junction precisely. We are already facing serious insecurity*, he said.
She however called on the president, the government and their politicians to help curb the crimes, stating that “how can somebody will be relaxing in his own shop where he make his hard earned money and a criminal will come, enter the shop and carry her phone and go like that”.
“And you go and beg to pay to collect it with security people doing nothing to him. We call on the police, we saw some police people but they were not on uniform. Some identify them as police people and soldier, that we should talk to them if they can be of help to us.
“But on meeting the group, they advised us to go and meet JTF. That even if we go they’ll not listen to us. That, it is better to meet community JTF to help us. It happen from 2- 5pm.
They even told us that once it gets to six o’clock or tomorrow we should forget about the phone completely. They’re in many groups we saw on the street when we went on bite. Black street is behind primary health care, under the bridge, behind water board, adjective to sign board.
“We pay the money in cash to JTF man who collected the money, and he promised to give the guy they bought weed from, so that when next there’s similar issue like this, it’ll be easy for the seller of the weed to identify the criminals in question. The JTF man was only putting on cap not uniform..
Miss Eze however said when they later went to the place they showed and met the police and soldier they advised them to meet JTF.
She said the culprits bearing one Bahago, is a very popular name on black street and in some kaduna north, were he’s coming from in kaduna North around rigassa side to operate at Black Street Sabon Tasha.
“They told us they just released him from prison about yesterday, when we’re there on Sunday on this issue,
Miss Eze said.
She also said personally, she has experienced same issue in ugwam Sunday before with an Edo man, as culprits who was living in ungwan Yelwa about 5 years ago around 2019.
“I quickly discover in the shop where’s I was alone working at the first day of resumption when the man came, asked for something’s ran way with my phone before I brought what he requested for.
“When the man enter a compound and I follow him, a neighbor to him told me there, that the man is like that. He said the man lives in the compound but nobody knows the work he does and where he worked.
“He leaves home early morning and come back always late. I didn’t go to police because I know they’ll not listen to me as young girl. That was how I lost me phone so I bacme so vigilant since them”, Eze lamented.
Additional information from neighborhoods alleged that the criminals gangs are working with JTF, the police personnel and even soldier who collect their own share of the loots from the looters on daily or weekly basis depending on the turned out of criminals business, now a hot cake.
A hotel manger alleged that some police officers in his present went there and collected N300,000 to pay for a car they were reparing in from their hotel few days ago and and expressed fears if it were their DPO that collect he would not remit anything to them.
Recalled that recent media report alleged that a DPO in kaduna police station said he’s collecting less than 40,000 only as month imprest to run the entire Divisional Police Headquarters.
