By Sabiu Abdullah
An Enugu court has sentenced a 34-year-old man, Ejike Nnam, to 8 years in prison for conspiracy and robbery after he pleaded guilty to snatching an iPhone XR worth ₦240,000 from a woman in Enugu.
The Enugu State Police Command announced the conviction in a statement issued on Saturday by its Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, on the command’s official Facebook page.
According to the police, Nnam, who reportedly resides in an unfinished building at Nkpokiti, Enugu, snatched the phone from the victim along Bisalla Road at about 8 pm on October 8, 2026, with the assistance of an accomplice who remains at large.
The statement said officers arrested Nnam shortly after the incident and arraigned him before the Enugu North Magistrate Court the following day.
“On October 8, 2026, at about 8 p.m., Ejike Nnam (male, aged 34), a resident of an unfinished building at Nkpokiti, Enugu, allegedly snatched an iPhone XR valued at N240,000 from a female victim along Bisalla Road, Enugu, alongside an accomplice who remains at large.
“Nnam was promptly arrested and arraigned the following day before the Enugu North Magistrate Court, where he pleaded guilty and was convicted. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and five years for robbery, with both sentences to run concurrently.”
The command also reported a separate case involving a 29-year-old man, Richard Chukwuma, who was arrested over the alleged theft of a bottle of Jameson Green Whisky worth ₦30,150 from a supermarket in Enugu.
Police said Chukwuma was arrested at about 6:50 pm on October 7. During interrogation, he reportedly admitted to stealing 15 bottles of the same whisky from the supermarket on an earlier occasion.
He was arraigned on October 9, 2026, and remanded at the Enugu Correctional Centre.
The Commissioner of Police, Mamman Bitrus Giwa, commended the Chief Magistrate for the speedy conclusion of the phone-snatching case and called for the timely handling of other police cases before courts across the state.
The command said prompt judicial proceedings could strengthen public confidence in the justice system and support crime prevention.
