Residents of Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, have raised concerns over a suspected syndicate allegedly using commercial tricycles, popularly known as Keke, to steal passengers’ phones and subsequently gain access to their bank accounts.
Investigations by AbaCityBloq, according to the publication, followed a series of reports involving phone theft and unexplained withdrawals from victims’ bank accounts in the city.
Three recent victims identified as Mr Ekene Udeh, Mr Nnamdi Anya and Mr Chukwuemeka Eletue reportedly gave similar accounts of how they boarded tricycles from the popular No. 1 Junction in Aba before losing their phones and, subsequently, substantial sums of money from their bank accounts.
Udeh and Anya reportedly lost more than ₦3 million each, while Eletue, a young businessman who deals in electrical parts, said he lost about ₦2 million after his phone was allegedly stolen during a tricycle ride on Monday, October 5, 2026.
The victims’ accounts suggest that the alleged operation involves multiple people working together, with unsuspecting passengers targeted shortly after boarding a tricycle.
How the alleged operation works
According to Eletue, the suspected syndicate allegedly operates with three people involved in the setup, while an unsuspecting passenger becomes the fourth occupant of the tricycle.
He alleged that one of the suspected members would stay around a particular location and loudly call out the names of destinations, attracting passengers travelling in that direction.
After an unsuspecting passenger boards the tricycle, Eletue said, two other men would allegedly join and pretend to be passengers heading to the same destination.
He said the suspects were allegedly strategic about identifying where their target intended to alight.
For instance, if the tricycle was heading towards Abayi and a passenger informed the rider that he would stop at Bata, Brass or Aba Town Hall, the suspected accomplices would allegedly know that the passenger would eventually leave the vehicle at that point.
Eletue alleged that once the target reached his destination and alighted, the tricycle would immediately drive away, making it difficult for the victim to identify or pursue the suspects.
Victims allegedly targeted based on phone position
According to Eletue, the alleged suspects also observe where passengers keep their phones before deciding how to carry out the theft.
He said that when a passenger appears to have phones in both pockets, the two suspected accomplices would allegedly position themselves on either side of the victim.
If the phone is kept in one pocket, he alleged that both men would move towards that side and ask the passenger to shift towards the opposite end of the seat.
The alleged arrangement, according to him, creates an opportunity for one person to distract the victim while another removes the phone.
‘Oga, please shift; let me spit out mucus’
Eletue said that was exactly how he allegedly lost his phone during his trip from No. 1 Junction.
He said one of the men sitting close to him began coughing and behaving as though he was struggling with catarrh before asking him to move away so he could spit.
“Within a minute of driving out of the boarding spot, one closer to you will cough, and the next thing you’ll hear is, ‘Oga, please shift; let me spit out mucus,’” Eletue recounted.
He said he naturally gave the passenger some space and tried to protect his face, unaware that the movement was allegedly part of the distraction.
“That was how they got me. Immediately after we left, No. 1 was getting close to CKC because they already knew I’d stop at St Michaels,” he said.
“The one sitting closer to me began to misbehave, like someone whose throat was blocked by thick catarrh and needed help opening up his breathing passages.”
Eletue said that after he shifted to give the passenger room, he did not immediately realise that his phone had allegedly been removed from his pocket.
He said the tricycle eventually reached St Michaels Road by Asa Road, where he paid ₦500 before the occupants allegedly drove away without giving him his balance.
“I gave them 500 naira, and they zoomed off without giving me my change while I was battling to understand why they did that,” he said.
“My mind suddenly went to my pocket, but it was too late as my phone was gone.”
‘They emptied my account’
The situation, according to Eletue, became even more devastating when he discovered that his bank account had allegedly been accessed after the theft.
He said the incident occurred on Monday evening and that when he checked his account on Tuesday morning while trying to secure his finances, he discovered that money had already been withdrawn.
“When I later checked my account on Tuesday morning because the incident happened on Monday evening, I discovered that it didn’t take up to 20 minutes while I was rushing, seeking help on how to safeguard my account; they began withdrawing and emptying my account to even the last one thousand,” he alleged.
Eletue said he was left without his savings after the incident.
“As I speak to you now, everything I have laboured for as a man has been stolen from me. I’m actually beginning life now as a boy that came to Aba without anything. All my savings are gone,” he said.
The accounts given by Eletue, Udeh and Anya point to similarities in the alleged incidents, particularly the use of tricycles boarded around No. 1 Junction and the subsequent theft of passengers’ phones before money was allegedly withdrawn from their accounts.
The reported pattern has raised questions about whether the location could provide a lead for law enforcement agencies investigating the incidents.
The Abia State Tricycle Operators Union (ASTOPU), Aba Zone, and the police could not be said to have established that the reported incidents are connected to a single syndicate based solely on the victims’ accounts.
However, the similarities described by the victims underscore the need for commuters to exercise caution when boarding commercial tricycles and to take immediate steps to secure their bank accounts if their phones are stolen.
The allegations also require investigation by the relevant security agencies to determine the identities of those behind the reported incidents and whether the cases are connected.
For Eletue, however, the financial loss has left him facing the difficult task of rebuilding his business and savings after what he described as a carefully executed operation.
