According to the Akwa Ibom State Police Command, a renowned tricycle robbery syndicate that terrorized residents of Uyo city and the surrounding area has been busted.
Additionally, according to the command, three (3) tricycles and seventy-two (72) different cell phones were found as exhibits from syndicate members that were allegedly stolen from unwitting victims.
At a press conference in Uyo on Friday, Commissioner of Police CP Baba Mohammed Azare gave reporters an update on the state’s crime situation and explained that the latest arrests were the result of a distress call from one of the tricycle robbery victims.
The Command received a petition from a 41-year-old man named Mr. Aniekan Dan on July 7, 2025. He stated that he and his wife boarded a tricycle from Ring Road 3 en route Nwaniba on July 3, 2025, at approximately 7:00 p.m., on their way back from Ibesikpo. Two other males who were already sitting in the tricycle were part of a heist gang, but they were unaware of this.
When they arrived to UniUyo Permanent Site Roundabout, the two alleged passengers, working with the tricycle rider, abruptly produced a gun and gave the order for the group to give up their belongings. An iPhone 12 Pro Max worth ₦680,000, an iPhone 16 worth ₦1,400,000, a Samsung S22 worth ₦370,000, ₦28,200 in cash, and a purse filled with personal belongings were confiscated from them.
The suspects shoved the victims out of the moving bike after robbing and assaulting them. Thankfully, the victims were able to determine the escaping tricycle’s MOT number (MOT–0BMR), which was crucial in locating the criminals.
Police officers apprehended a 34-year-old trike rider named Editi and the tricycle used in the operation after conducting an intelligence-led investigation. Four additional gang members were arrested as a result of his voluntary statement, both inside and outside of Akwa Ibom State. “He said,”
The CP praised the prompt response and professionalism displayed by the command’s operatives who carried out the arrests, listing further suspects detained as Musa Idris Sanni, age 31, Utibe Asuquo Nkop, age 34, Dadati John, age 46, and Abdulrashid Sanni, age 28.
