The Nigeria Police Force Special Tactical Squad have reportedly arrested and detained a total number of 32 infamous criminals for their roles in abduction (including the Kaduna-Abuja Road Kidnappers), armed robbery, arms smuggling, illegal weapon possession, illicit drug trafficking, trans-border auto theft, and rape, among other crimes.
During the follow-up investigations, a report by Channels TV revealed that the police team also recovered 19 (19) AK47 rifles, one (1) GPMG, three (3) revolver rifles, two (2) G-3 rifles, one (1) SMG, one (1) Beretta pistol, 453 rounds of live ammunition of various calibres, twelve (12) magazines, and seventeen (17) stolen cars from the criminals.
Among the cases is the arrest of six (6) daredevil criminals involved in car theft in various parts of the country, including Nasarawa, Port Harcourt, the Federal Capital Territory, Kebbi, and Zamfara.
These suspects transfer stolen cars across our international boundaries and deliver them to a prominent criminal receiver in Niger Republic named Alhaji Garuba (who is currently on the run).
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According to investigations, the suspects’ method of operation includes seizing cars at gunpoint and occasionally stealing them from crowded parking lots such as the Cinema, Church, and Mosque.
These cars are then sold at giveaway prices in neighboring countries and or occasionally handed to Alhaji Garuba in exchange for illegal weaponry.
The Nigerian Police Force’s INTERPOL section is already collaborating with its counterparts in the Niger Republic to apprehend the fleeing suspects and bring them to justice.
Another case Is that of Dayyabu Mohammed, a 27-year-old resident of Soba LGA in Kaduna State, who was apprehended for illegally possessing five (5) AK47 weapons and 250 rounds of AK47 ammunition.
The culprit was apprehended by STS operatives during a bandit hunt in Saminaka Forest in Kaduna State.
Dayyabu Mohammed is an arms supplier to two (2) known bandits who are on the watch list of the Nigerian Police in the country’s north west and north central regions, according to an investigation.
Yellow and Budderi are the two bandit kingpins. Dayyabu Mohammed was apprehended while transporting firearms from Jos, Plateau State, to the Bandits’ hideouts in a forest near Birnin-Gwari, Kaduna State, in a Golf-3 saloon car.
The Golf-3 saloon car was supplied to Dayyabu as his operating vehicle by one of the wanted bandits, with the promise that complete ownership of the vehicle would revert to him after five successful guns delivery missions, according to the Police team’s investigation.
The next Is the case of suspected Kaduna-Abuja road kidnappers who were recently arrested by the police.
The culprits were said to be behind the recent attack on commuters along the Kaduna – Abuja highway’s Tafa axis, when two (2) women and their husbands were kidnapped and taken into the forest.
The Special Tactical Squad operatives stationed in the region were swiftly mobilized and went after the culprits in order to save the victims. The police eventually discovered the perpetrators’ hideout, launched a rescue effort, and successfully liberated the captives, including the women, unharmed.
Mohammed Lawali, Suleiman Ibrahim, Mohammed Rebo, Bashir Audu, Monsoru Abubakar, and Abubakar Hamidu were also captured in connection with an attack on a mosque in Mazakuka, Mashegu LGA, Niger State, in which eighteen (18) persons were purportedly killed and more than thirty (30) abducted.
The gang boss, Mohammed Lawali, and several of the gang members are all escapees from the Lokoja detention center, according to the police investigation. Bashir Audu was apprehended for his criminal role in supplying the group with heavy drugs. They were found with two (2) AK47 weapons, three (3) fully loaded magazines, and numerous hard drug packages.
While praising the various police units for their successful operations, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, psc (+), NPM, fdc assured the general public that the Nigerian Police Force will continue to pursue criminal elements that constitute a threat to our national security.
The IGP is also urging victims of auto theft to go to the STS office in Guzape, Abuja, with evidence of ownership to claim their vehicles, noting that the color, interior, and vehicle number plate may have been changed by the criminals.
According to CP Frank Mba, the Nigerian Police public relation officer, when the investigations are finished, all of the suspects will be arraigned in court.
