Abellana Police Station | Emmariel Ares
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A Nigerian national, who is studying at one of the universities in Cebu City, was caught on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in the act of selling over P100,000 worth of gadgets that he allegedly stole from his neighbor in Barangay Sambag 2.
The arrested person was identified as 23-year-old Chidera Nwike, a Nigerian national who is a medical student in one of the universities in Cebu City.
Nwike was reportedly staying at a boarding house in Sitio Pailob, Barangay Sambag 2.
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The victim, Philippe Akut, 25, was his next door neighbor.
Police Major Mark Don Alfred Leanza, chief of Abellana Police Station, said that the robbery took place on Tuesday evening, April 16.
Leanza said that the victim was sleeping at the time and only noticed his missing belongings when he woke up at around 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
The stolen items were a laptop worth P55,000, a tablet worth P32,000, a mobile phone worth P13,000, and another tablet worth P17,200.
The victim’s ATM cards and identification cards were also stolen from his room.
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Leanza said that there was a possibility that the victim left his door open or did not completely lock it which the reason why the suspect managed to enter the room.
Immediately after, Akut reportedly approached a police officer who was also a resident of the boarding house to ask for help.
With the help of the policeman, they were able to trace the location of one of the laptops that were taken through its GPS.
According to Leanza, they were able to catch the suspect in possession of the stolen items on Wednesday evening at a mall along Leon Kilat.
Nwike was caught in the act of trying to sell the gadgets that were worth more than P100,000.
The officer then arrested Nwike and brought him to the Abellana Police Station, where he is detained as of this writing.
Leanza said that the suspect had no previous records at their station.
He also said that the student possibly needed funds as he was still a student which drove him to commit the theft.
As of this writing, police are preparing to file a charge of theft against Nwike.