The Cross River state police command paraded five robbery suspects on Thursday for allegedly stealing money and other items from the public.
The command said three of the five suspects were rescued by the police from being lynched by an angry mob after they stole N250,000 from a victim along Parliamentary road in Calabar.
Irene Ugbo, the State’s Police Public Relations officer said the suspects were rescued after a distress call from concerned residents.
She said three of the suspects got into trouble after they robbed one Otamba Gabby of N250,000. She further said that the suspects identified as Augustine Ani, Okonkwo John, and Jennifer Abel stood in front of First Bank branch on Marian road to monitor those who came out with large sums of money.
“On November 23, one Otamba Gabby went to the bank to withdraw the sum of N250,000. He boarded a taxi when he came out.
“However, he did not know that the occupants of the taxi were fraudsters. While in the taxi, he noticed that the money with him has been turned into pieces of papers that were neatly cut to the size of naira notes.
“He subsequently raised the alarm which attracted members of the public who got hold of them. They were about being lynched before the intervention of the police patrol team which rescued them. One blue Volkswagen with number plate, Abia ACH 564LU, and three bundles of papers cut to the size of naira notes were recovered.
“The suspects will soon be charged to court. The war against crime and criminality in the state is a continuous process that requires the collaborative efforts of all,” Ugbo said
Ugbo also said the two other suspects, identified as Nathaniel Ijabu and James Anika, were arrested on November 21 after they robbed an expatriate on Murtala Muhammed Highway in Calabar. She said the expatriate was robbed at the Bebobsco area of Calabar.
“On November 21, an expatriate in Calabar was attacked by a group of armed boys. The bad boys collected his Samsung G7 Galaxy phone, a wallet containing one dollar and Nokia phone. The suspects have confessed to the crime and investigation is still ongoing,” she said.
