by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Until very recently, it was absolutely a taboo to believe that victims of phone snatchers and other mobile items run to a particular street to pay and collect their stolen phones back, few minutes or days after they are robbed.
They do this face-to-face with their culprits or vindicators on what is popularly known as “Black Street” in Sabon Tasha area in South of Kaduna metropolis.
Indeed, victims are made to pay “through the nose” with begging to collect back their stolen items or properties from the culprits, in presence 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 the social vices and criminals in the community gather everyday when they strike and, therefore, thrives and is patronized freely by mostly the drug addicts and criminals.
Located in Sabon Tasha suburb town of Kaduna, in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State, “Black Street” menace is, however, not limited to Sabon Tasha community and environs alone, but cut across several other communities in the state, according to star witnesses – most of whom have been victims and survivors of the phone-snatching menace.
Narrating the recent helpless ugly trend, an innocent-looking but hard-working lady, Happiness Peace Ejeh, 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, located along Sabon Tasha by Garage Road, is a beehive of social night life centre and it’s synonymous with social activities where most socialites who are familiar, gather around all nights long, is chilling.
It’s a gallery-of-sort and business hub for roasted and dry creamy catfishes, known to many people in the areas and even beyond.
In this exclusive chat, Miss Happiness Ejeh, a graduate of statistics, paint maker or producer, and POS business magnet, who was also a victim and star witness to the neighbour’s travail, elaborated how her shop neighbor, Mrs. Mary David, fell victim of the daylight phone stealing.
Her words: “I’m about 11 years here now, in Halima Junction, Ungwan Sunday, Kaduna, doing my own business. The incident happened 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 had finished.
“On his way out, he stylishly peeped into a neighbour’s 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 crossed over the woman lying down, tired, and picked her phone,” Peace memorized, guessingly.
Miss Ejeh also explained that, “On discovering that her phone could not be found, the woman victim jumped out of her shop and started screening. Her colleagues’ sympathizers, who rust assorted fishes down the line, 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 neighbours’ disposition, noted that the suspected person first came to her shop and asked for chemical and left when they told her the chemical had 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 Ejeh.
Miss Ejeh continued that, “Mrs. Mary David immediately ran to a neighbour 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 Water Board, 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 and facial appearance.
“On reaching there, the guys we met said they’re of different group, that they cannot really fish him out because it will turn to problem between the two groups.
“But, the only thing they can do, if the suspect has used 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 will do. They told us to sit down and buy Chelsea hot drink for them, and we did, thinking the matter is over.
“Later, someone there said we should seek Police Officer’s assistance, but we said no, that is not something that we required. After wasting our time, another person passing by asked us and we explained. 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 used the phone to buy market (India hemp), and I told the JTF that this one you are 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, i.e., the weeds and Indian hemp they take,” Miss Ejeh said.
She also said, “They now ask us: can we identify the guy, if we see him, we said, “Yes.” On reaching the exact spot the guy was, we never knew that as they sneaked him into a particular compound, they asked him to change the cloth.
“So, he disguised himself with a different cloth – singlet. When he came to steal, he was wearing caftan and holding a Baco bag. So, we could not identify his face or dressing, where they were sitting down.
“But the group where we went to first time, the “Black Street,” they mentioned his name; so we sticked to that name and said “Bahago.” The JTF said he knows the person and said that he will 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 are okay with that; if we can find our phone, no problem. We came to conclusion and the JTF pointed the guy and said, “This is him.” Immediately on asking the guy a 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 dragged and dragged, they gave us N15,000 to pay, and we paid and they handed over to 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 used 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 collected the phone, came back to our place on that same day,” Miss Ejeh narrated.
In view of the horrible experience Miss Happiness Peace Eze and her victim neighbor went through in the hands of the criminal gangs, they expressed lamentations on the fate of the poor petty traders and the State of Kaduna and nation at large.
“But I’m not 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,” Peace 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 makes 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 called on the police; we saw some police people but they were not on uniform. Some identified them as Police people and Soldiers; 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 will not listen to us; that, it is better to meet community JTF to help us. It happened 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 are 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, adjacent to Sign Board.
“We paid 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 is similar issue like this, it will 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 Ejeh, however, said when they later went to the place they were shown and met the police and soldier, who advised them to meet JTF.
She said “The culprit, bearing one “Bahago,” is a very popular name on “Black Street” and in some Kaduna North, where he is coming from, in Kaduna North around Rigassa side to operate at “Black Street”, in Sabon Tasha.
“They told us they just released him from prison about yesterday, when we were there on Sunday on this issue,” Miss Ejeh said.
She also said, personally, she has experienced same issue in Ugwan Sunday before with an Edo man, as a culprit, who was living in Ungwan Yelwa about 5 years ago, around 2019.
“I quickly discovered in the shop where I was alone working on the first day of resumption when the man came, asked for something but ran way with my phone before I brought what he requested for.
“When the man entered a compound and I followed him, a neighbour 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 works. He leaves home early morning and comes back always late.”
I didn’t go to police because I know they will not listen to me, as a young girl. That was how I lost my phone, So, I became so vigilant since then,” Ejeh lamented.
Additional information from neighborhoods alleged that the criminal 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 turn-out of criminals’ business, which is now a hot cake.
A hotel manger alleged that some Police officers in his presence went there and collected N300,000 to pay for a car they were repairing from their hotel a few days ago, and expressed fears that, if it were their DPO that collected he would not remit anything to them.
Recalled that recent media report alleged that a DPO in Kaduna Police Station said he is collecting less than 40,000 only as monthly Imprest to run the entire Divisional Police Headquarters.