Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested a total of eighty-four (84) notorious criminal suspects within the past one month.
Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, CP Frank Mba said a total of 45 sophisticated firearms and ammunition including 1-GPMG, 1-LAR rifle, 17-AK47 rifles, 2-Pump Action rifles, 20- locally fabricated firearms, 3-single barrel guns, 9899- live ammunition of different calibres, 80-fake vehicle number plates, 1- Toyota Camry with Reg. No. AA 792 HJA and 1-Toyota Corolla LE with Reg. No. QAP 622 AA, were recovered from the suspects in the operations.
Mba said the suspects were arrested for their involvement in a series of violent crimes including terrorism, banditry, kidnap for ransom, possession and proliferation of illegal weapons, armed robbery, and unlawful production of vehicle number plates.
He added that many of the suspects were arrested in follow-ups on cases of violent crimes under investigations.
He said others were arrested after being subdued following gun duels with the police who took the battle to the doorsteps of the criminals.
Mba said among the cases was the arrest of four members of a notorious criminal gang responsible for carrying out some of the high-profile kidnap-for-ransom operations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kaduna, Niger, Katsina, Bauchi, and Plateau States.
He said the suspects were Umar Abdullahi ‘m’ 40yrs of kali Kura village, Giwa Local Government Area, Kaduna State, Yusuf Tanimu ‘m’ 23yrs of Kurena, Zaria, Kaduna State, Mamuda Suleiman ‘m’ 40yrs of Barkin ladi, Plateau State and Abubakar Yaro ‘m’ 38yrs from Wase village, Plateau State.
Mba said investigations disclosed that the gangs were linked to a series of kidnap-for-ransom crimes including the kidnapping of some senior staff members of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, family members of notable political appointees and business entrepreneurs in Kaduna State and other contiguous States.
He said further investigations disclosed that the suspects were at an advanced stage of operationalizing their plans to kidnap a Catholic Bishop in Zaria, when they were apprehended.
Mba said the gang, in addition to their kidnapping enterprise, also supply arms and ammunition to bandits at Birnin Gwarri, kaduna State, Niger, Katsina and Zamfara States.
He said one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), two AK47 rifles, six thousand, five hundred and nine (6,509) live ammunition were recovered from the syndicate during the operation.
Meanwhile, the Police team arrested a 7-man criminal syndicate that specializes in the manufacturing and supplies of locally fabricated AK-47 rifles and ammunition to bandits in forests on the Kaduna-Abuja expressway and Funtua – Kankara expressway in Katisina State.
Mba said the suspects were Dung Michael ‘m’ 26yrs, Dung James ‘m’ 29yrs, Bulus Iliya ‘m’ 25yrs, Markus Danladi ‘m’ 25yrs, Danjuma Dachu ‘m’ 25yrs all from Jos South and Samaila Abdullahi ‘m’ 45yrs from Toro in Bauchi State, Maek Danladi ‘m’ 30yrs from Chukum, Kaduna State.
He said one Abubakar Mohammed also known as Mallam Buzu from Mali, who is a transnational gun-runner, was arrested by the Police team in Tsamiya, a border town between Benin Republic and Nigeria.
Mba said he was arrested with a GPMG ammunition chain drive with holding capacity of 1,600 rounds of ammunition.
The police spokesperson also disclosed that three suspects responsible for production of fake vehicle number plates including replica of number plates of government, diplomatic and security agencies were arrested.
He said investigations disclosed that the suspects supply the number plates to criminal elements who use the same to beat security checks during their operations.
Mba said a total of 80 fake number plates were recovered from the gang.
He said the Inspector General of Police, Ag. IGP Usman Alkali Baba, while affirming that the kinetic and non-kinetic approaches targeted at re-ordering security in the country were already yielding positive results.
He reassured citizens of the renewed commitment of the Force to the fight against crimes and criminality.
The IGP called for sustained support for the Police and the security community as efforts were intensified to enhance public safety, peace and security.
Mba said all the suspects would be arraogned on completion of investigations.
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