Phone Snatcher Jailed in Lightning Court Victory as Accomplice Still Free

A 34-year-old man who snatched a woman’s iPhone XR in broad evening traffic has been packed off to prison after a remarkably swift prosecution that saw him arrested, charged, convicted and sentenced in less than 48 hours.
Ejike Nnam, a resident of an unfinished building at Nkpokiti in Enugu, was sentenced on October 9 by an Enugu North Magistrate Court to three years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and five years for robbery. The sentences are to run concurrently.

According to a statement by the Enugu State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, the offence occurred at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 8, along Bisalla Road. Nnam and an accomplice still at large allegedly snatched the iPhone XR, valued at ₦240,000, from a female victim. Officers of the New Haven Police Division moved quickly, arrested Nnam almost immediately, and brought him before the court the following day.

Nnam pleaded guilty. The court wasted no time. He was convicted on the spot and ordered remanded at the Enugu Correctional Centre to begin serving his term.

Commissioner of Police Mamman Bitrus Giwa, psc, mspsp, smicm, praised the Chief Magistrate for the “prompt dispensation of justice.” He urged courts across the state to sustain the same speed in police cases, arguing that timely adjudication strengthens public confidence in the justice system and helps prevent crime.

In a separate development handled by the same division, 29-year-old Richard Chukwuma was arrested on October 7 at a popular supermarket (name withheld) for allegedly stealing a bottle of Jameson Green Whisky worth ₦30,150. During interrogation he reportedly confessed to having previously stolen 15 more bottles of the same brand from the same store. He was arraigned on October 9 and remanded at the Enugu Correctional Centre pending further proceedings.

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Phone snatching remains one of the most common street crimes in Enugu and other Nigerian cities. Victims, often women walking alone or distracted by their devices, lose phones worth tens or hundreds of thousands of naira in seconds. The speed of this particular case — arrest on the day of the offence, conviction the next morning — is being held up by police as evidence that determined investigation and prosecutorial focus can deliver results.

An accomplice remains free. Police have appealed to members of the public with information that could lead to his arrest to come forward.

The Command reiterated its commitment to thorough investigation and diligent prosecution of criminal cases in accordance with the law.