A 14-year-old boy, whose identity could not be disclosed on ethical grounds, has been arrested with a pistol as he was robbing residents of Ikwerre Road in the Mile 1 axis of Diobu in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The teenager was nabbed by a vigilante group in the area. Following his arrest, the suspect owned up to the crime, attributing his involvement in the armed robbery to hunger.
The local vigilante known as Diobu Security Services stated that the teenager allegedly led a three-man gang during the operation on Sunday, October 8, 2023.
The group’s Commander, Prince Amatari, made this disclosure while speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, October 10.
Amatari said the boy’s arrest followed a distress call received by his men that some miscreants were dispossessing people of cash and other valuables along Ikwerre Road by Emenike.
He added that when his men arrived at the scene, two of the criminals fled, but that luck ran out of the 14-year-old who was arrested.
He said, “If a boy of 14 years can have the mind to rob residents with a pistol, it tells you how the society is now. The victims said their money, clothes and mobile phones were collected by the criminals. I spoke with the suspect and he said it was hunger that pushed him into crime.”
Amatari stated that the suspect was later handed over to the Mile 1 Police Station in Port Harcourt.
Efforts made to reach the Rivers Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Grace Iringe-Koko, proved abortive as she did not answer calls put across to her line phone.