Former UN Employee Robbed Four Banks During Lunch Breaks, Police Say

NEW YORK, NY — A former UN employee and Nigerian news reporter is accused of carrying out a string of Midtown bank robberies during his lunch breaks.

Abdullahi Shuaibu, 53, targeted four banks near his office at the Foreign Press Center at the US Permanent Mission to the UN, according to police. All robberies took place during Shuaibu's lunch hours.

He was arrested Monday and hit with two robbery and two attempted robbery charges after a former police officer working as a guard at the US Permanent Mission to the UN identified him from surveillance footage released by police, a spokesman for the NYPD said.

The first incident occurred on Feb. 27 when a man entered Santander Bank at 330 Madison Avenue and passed the teller a note saying he had a gun. The teller gave him an undetermined amount of money, police said.

On March 13, the thief struck again, this time at a Bank of America at 750 Third Ave. Shuaibu handed the teller a note, but the teller ignored him and walked away, according to the charges.

On March 27, police said the man robbed a Santander Bank at 1062 Third Ave. The teller gave Shuaibu an unspecified amount of money after he passed her a note, according to the charges.

The latest incident occurred April 17 when Shuaibu walked into an HSBC Bank at 617 Third Ave and passed the teller a note demanding money, police said. When the teller refused to read the note and asked for identification, Shuaibu ran away empty-handed, police said.

He was arrested upon returning the Foreign Press Center later that day, police said.

The Foreign Press Center does not give foreign journalists office space but helps them contact U.S. government officials to provide a strong coverage of the U.S. in foreign media, a spokeswoman for the State Department said. She refused to answer any questions related to the case.

Shuaibu worked briefly for the UN between October and November 2013 and has not worked for the organization since, a spokeswoman for the UN said. Up until 2012, he was the resident correspondent representing the News Agency of Nigeria. It is unclear who he was working for when he was arrested.

Lead image courtesy of NYPD