BEGGERS ARE RECEIVERS OF STOLEN PHONES-SUSPECT

Detectives attached to the Rapid Response Squad [RRS, Lagos, have expressed shock when a 19-year old suspect told them that the items he stole from unsuspecting Nigerians were regularly bought by beggars. The suspect, Yusuf Ahmed, who said he has been living under Oshodi Bridge since he was 13, said the beggars were the thieves regular receivers of stole items. Ahmed revealed that he and other teenagers in Oshodi survived by stealing and dispossessing passers-by of their phones and other valuables. He said: Any phone i stole, i sell to Mohammed or Kudus,they are beggars in Oshodi. They buy most of the stolen phones from us. Ahmed was arrested on Friday, after stealing a Tecno Y6, which was recovered from his brother; he was arrested alongside Yusuf Agbaje,25 from Oyo State . Agbaje was arrested in Agege for stealing Blackberry curve from a commuter. According to Ahmed, he along with other teenagers sleep under the Oshodi Bridge, and that it is from there they eke out a living by stealing phones and robbing passers-by of their valuables.