Residents, particularly students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, have repeatedly raised the alarm over the menace of “Keke gangs” who lure passengers, only to rob them at secluded points.
Operatives of the Anambra State Police Command have arrested a four-man gang who allegedly specialised in phone and tricycle robberies, popularly known as Keke Napep robberies, in Awka, the state capital.
Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who made this known in a statement issued in Awka on Tuesday, said the suspects were arrested in the early hours of Monday, August 25, 2025, by officers attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Akwuzu, during a night patrol along the Agu Awka/Ifite Awka axis.
Ikenga said the suspects include 19-year-old Nnaji Chidera; 21-year-old Chijioke Mmaduabuchi; 19-year-old Wisdom Ogbonna; and 20-year-old Afamefuna Egbe.
“Exhibits recovered are 9 brands of phones including the victim’s iPhone, one laptop, two tricycles with registration numbers LSD 464 QP and BLF 552 VH, four different tricycle plate numbers and a substance suspected to be a hard drug,” the police spokesperson said.
During interrogation, Ikenga said the suspects confessed to being part of a wider syndicate that targets students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (UNIZIK), and other unsuspecting residents of the capital city at night.
“They further revealed that the multiple tricycle plate numbers found with them were usually used to disguise their operational vehicles whenever they embarked on armed robbery,” Ikenga stated.
Reacting to the arrest of the criminal suspects, the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Ikioye Orutugu, commended the operatives for their swift response and warned criminals that the command will not tolerate lawlessness in the state.
The police commissioner urged the youths to shun crime, warning that the Command will not relent in ensuring that criminal elements face the full weight of the law.
The arrest comes against the backdrop of rising cases of tricycle and phone-related robberies in Anambra State, especially in the state capital, Awka.
In July 2025, police operatives reportedly arrested a three-man gang that specialised in using tricycles to dispossess students and residents around Ifite Awka of phones and cash.
In June 2025, the Anambra Police Command reportedly arrested and paraded a syndicate that snatched tricycles from operators at gunpoint in Onitsha and later used them for robbery operations.
Residents, particularly students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, have repeatedly raised the alarm over the menace of “Keke gangs” who lure passengers, only to rob them at secluded points.
Leave a Reply