LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) have lamented the incessant breaking into hostels, phones theft and other valuables by a yet-to-be-identified robber known as Saint Stealer.
While complaining over the development, the students said the suspect, who is known to target students using iPhones, usually demands ransom after stealing their phones before releasing them back to them.
It was gathered from the student that the suspect usually received the payment via Bitcoin in exchange for the stolen phones.
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According to a victim, Akinbode Akinlabi, the amount paid as ransom was determined by the value of the iPhone, adding that there was no single student’s residential area outside the premises of the school that the suspect had not robbed.
He said, “Despite not being the only one sleeping in my room, he (suspect) stole over three phones in our hostel.
” The suspect stole the phone of a girl whose room was opposite mine. He stole my phone by tearing the net off my window and removing the phone from where I was charging it.
“He then dropped a paper by my window that I should message him on telegram. He has been doing this for over two years and because we stay off-campus, there is nothing the school authority could do about it. He has robbed several students. The least he collects as ransom is $100.
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Narrating her ordeal in the hands of the suspect, an undergraduate studying animal nutrition at the institution, Ada Chi, said, “I woke up and could not find my phone. My window was badly torn. I had to call my number and he picked it up and said I should message him on his telegram account through a link. I paid $150 to get my phone back.”
On whether the matter was reported to the police, a victim who identified herself simply as Munira, said the police were aware of the case.
She added, “A group of students caught him on April 19 and took him to the Harmony Police Station. The station is very close to the school gate. It was later that we heard the guy had been released by the police.”