One Kingsley Mathias, 22 and Bassey Edet, 23, have been arrested by the security personnel of the University of Calabar (UNICAL), for snatching a mobile phone worth N88,000 from one Godwin Okoro, a 100-level Computer Science student of the institution.

According to Okoro, he was on his way to withdraw money from the bank when he was accosted by the suspects, who snatched the phone, which he claimed was worth N88,000.

One of the suspects, Mathias, revealed that the phone was sold for N10,000. He pleaded for forgiveness  and promised to help in recovering  the phone from the buyer.

Speaking on Wednesday, UNICAL’s Vice-Chancellor,  Prof. Florence Obi, said  the suspects who are not students of the institution, were in a habit of  harassing students, snatching their phones and other belongings especially in the hostels.

“The training was organised to sharpen their mental alertness so that they can carry out their duties effectively and creditably.

“I want to advise parents to always know the whereabouts of their children and the kind of company they keep.

“We know that things are hard; I want to encourage parents, who cannot afford university education for their children, to send them to learn a skill and be self-reliant.

“Learning a skill and fending for yourself is more dignifying, because we all pride ourselves when feeding from the dignity of our labour” the VC said.

She noted that the suspects would be handed over to security agencies for investigation and prosecution.