The Nigeria Police Force has said that it had arrested 26 suspects for kidnapping, armed robbery, rape and unlawful possession of prohibited fire arms in Lambata area of Niger state.
The Force spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Abuja yesterday on the arrest. He named the suspects as Isa Umar, Nuhu Yahaya, Sanda Saleh, Ali, Okechukwu Atama, Mohammed Aliyu, Haruna Adamu, Adamu Bello, Abubakar Iliyasu, Safiyu Mohammed among others. Moshood said the suspects, who operated at different areas, were arrested between August 8 and 22 in Niger. He said that items recovered from them include: Four AK 47 rifles, cutlasses, cell phones, wrist watches, Military camouflage and personal effects of their victims. Moshood said investigations were on to identify the source of the military uniforms.
The spokesperson said some of the suspects also specialised in raping their victims. He said the suspects had made confessional statements to the police on the various roles each of them played in the crime. Moshood said the arrest followed clean-up operations by the Operation Absolute Sanity in Niger, Kaduna, Benue and Kogi states. “The operation is going to be sustained and the war against crime will be extended to every part of the country,” he said. Moshood said the InspectorGeneral of Police, Ibrahim Idris, commended members of the community for their support. Contributing, Muhammad Usman, Village Head of Lambata, assured that members of his community would cooperate with the police to fight crime in the area. He said members of the community were ready to give police all the necessary and useful information to ensure the provision of security of life and property. The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the Force, on July 25, began Operation Absolute Sanity on Abuja-Kaduna Highway. The team include: Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Squad, Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Intelligent Response Team, Special Tactical Squad, Force Intelligence Branch and Police Helicopters. On July 31 and August 3, the police also arrested 31 and 40 suspects at Katari and Rijana area, respectively, on the Kaduna-Abuja road.
