Phone thief

     Phone thief beat up RRS officer at Ikeja, Lagos Soonest Nathaniel 1 minute ago 0 – A phone thief has beaten up an operative of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in Lagos – The RRS officer tried amid being battered to arrest the phone thief – Residents have hailed the officer for not allowing the thief to escape An operative of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Sergeant Oladipo Adetunbi was given the beating of his life today by a suspected phone thief at theIkeja area of Lagos. The phone thief, 32-year-old Idowu Nojeem, battered the policeman after he attempted to steal his phone, a Techno Y5 handset. Adetumbi, who was on a surveillance mission around Ikeja Under Bridge, made a frantic effort to arrest the suspect in spite of receiving several punches on his face. It was the timely intervention of other police officers at the scene that saved the day as the phone thief was promptly arrested. READ ALSO: You won’t believe what was found inside bag stolen in Lagos (photo) Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Whatsapp Idowu Nojeem, suspected phone thief An eye witness who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “I was with the policeman when the suspect forcefully removed the phone from the operative’s front pocket. The policeman was on a surveillance mission in the area but was not in uniform. I saw a man moving towards the sergeant but he never knew he was a policeman because the man was not in uniform. READ ALSO: Photo: Victim shares new tactic of robbers at ATM points in Lagos “As he moved closer to him, he stylishly covered his face with a newspaper, and removed the phone from his. pocket. As I stood beside him when the incident occurred, we were all shocked that someone could have such effrontery to rob while many passers-by were moving.  Immediately the policeman suspected that his phone had been removed, he pulled the suspect by his shirt but the suspect said he should forget his phone that it’s gone. He started beating the policeman before we could separate them,” he said. “The police officer really showed doggedness by not allowing the suspect escape because as the fight was ongoing, he still held him tight on his trousers. When it was obvious that he was gaining an upper hand, the traffic warden and other policemen close by stepped in to separate them. Then, the operative dragged him to other RRS officers stationed at the Under Bridge, Ikeja,” the source explained. In a related development, a man tried to steal an iPhone at the Alaba market in Lagos. The attempt proved unsuccessful as he was caught and beaten up by locals. After having been beaten up, the thief was handed over to the police.