Stolen Motorcycle Victim Recalls Night Robbers Struck Twice

SULEJA — It was almost 4 a.m. when the sound outside his window jolted him awake. By the time he reached his motorcycle, it was already gone, and so was the only tool he used to feed his family.

The victim, a motorcycle rider who asked to be called simply Yusuf for safety reasons, said he had parked his Jincheng motorcycle outside his home in the Rafin Chinaka area of Maje in Suleja Local Government Area the night before the robbery.

A Living Taken in Minutes

“That motorcycle was everything for me. I use it to carry passengers every morning before my children wake up,” Yusuf said, standing where the motorcycle once stood parked against his fence.

He said he placed a distress call to police around 3:40 a.m. once he realized what had happened. Officers from the Maje Division responded quickly, he said, though the financial damage to his household had already been done.

Police said the case did not end with one stolen motorcycle. Investigators later linked the theft to a wider network accused of armed robbery, killing and selling stolen motorcycles across Suleja and parts of the Federal Capital Territory.

A Wider Web of Crime Uncovered

Niger State Police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said officers pursued the suspects toward the Zuba axis after the initial robbery report. The chase led to the arrest of one suspect, identified as Bitrus James, who police say later helped uncover the rest of the syndicate.

“Investigations from that single arrest led us to eight more suspects connected to the same group,” Abiodun said in a statement issued from Minna. He named the additional suspects as Aminu Ibrahim, Gali Abubakar, Ibrahim Idris, Samaila Nasiru and others still being processed.

For residents in the area, the arrests offered some comfort, but not full relief. Many riders in the community say they now sleep lightly, worried that their motorcycles could disappear the same way Yusuf’s did.

Rebuilding After the Loss

Yusuf said he has borrowed money from relatives to start saving toward another motorcycle, though he is unsure how long that will take. In the meantime, he walks long distances to find casual labor wherever he can.

“I am grateful the police caught those men, but it does not bring back what I lost,” he said. His neighbors have begun contributing small amounts to help him recover, a gesture he says has kept him from losing hope entirely.

Other Riders Share the Same Fear

Yusuf is not alone in his worry. Other motorcycle riders in Rafin Chinaka say they have started parking their bikes indoors at night, even when it means squeezing them through narrow doorways meant for furniture, not vehicles.

One rider, who gave his name as Danjuma, said the wave of thefts has made the entire community more watchful. “We now take turns checking the street at night. Nobody trusts that one person watching is enough,” he said.

Police spokesperson Abiodun said the command takes such cases seriously precisely because motorcycles serve as a primary income source for many families in the area. He noted that recovering stolen property remains a top priority even after suspects are arrested.

“We understand that for many of these riders, the motorcycle is their entire business. Losing it can mean losing the ability to feed their children,” Abiodun said, adding that the police command would continue working with community leaders to improve early reporting of suspicious activity.

Police say the investigation into the wider syndicate continues, with officers working to recover more stolen property and identify additional victims across the area.

For now, Yusuf spends his mornings walking from one part of Suleja to another, searching for casual work. He said the experience has changed how he views safety in his own neighborhood, even one he has lived in for years. “I used to feel safe here. Now I check my surroundings before I sleep,” he said.