Director stabbed on way to mosque in Abuja

A retired director (name withheld) was allegedly stabbed and had his iPhone 13 taken away by suspected hoodlums in the Phase III area of Gwagwalada in the Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT.

Abdullahi Garba, a resident of Phase III and the victim’s neighbour, said that the incident occurred on Thursday around 5:22 am as the victim was on his way to observe Subhi prayers at a nearby mosque.

Recounting the incident, he noted that two suspected hoodlums blocked the victim with their motorcycle, saying that one of them then pulled out a knife and stabbed him on the right hand.

He said in the process, the victim handed over his phone to the hoodlums, who then sped off.

Garba added, “Before the neighbours could know what was happening, the hoodlums had already escaped with the man’s iPhone, and the victim was rushed to the hospital.”

Garba also stated that this was the third of such incident in the area in the last two weeks.

He noted that another resident was attacked on his way to the mosque for Isha’i prayers and had his phone stolen prior to this latest incident.

There are growing reports of phone snatching in Abuja by suspected hoodlums, especially around Unguwar Dodo and Kutunku in Gwagwalada. Most of these hoodlums often target their victims during early morning prayers.

The spokesperson for the FCT police command, SP Josephine Adeh, could not be reached for comment on the incident at the time of filing this report.