A Divisional Police Officer (DPO) serving in Tafa town Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State has rejected a one million naira cash offered him as a bribe by an attested bandit identified as Bello Muhammad.
The DPO who trailed the notorious bandits to a hotel in Tafa, an arranged ransom collection venue, rejected the offer to allow him to escape.
Mansir Hassan, the Kaduna State Police Command Public Relations Officer, confirmed it in a telephone interview with WikkiTimes, adding that the arrest followed days of intelligence gathering.
The command’s Spokesman noted that the arrested bandit hailed from Zamfara State and was in Kaduna to collect the ransom payments for the release of their kidnapped victims.
He said the DPO acting on credible information regarding the presence of the suspected person at Easyway Hotel in Tafa town.
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Mansir Hassan explained that over two million naira was recovered from the suspected notorious bandit who also operates with his gang around Kagarko forest in Kaduna.
He added that the aforementioned sum is the suspect’s own share of a ransom collected.
The police officer further explained that a check of his mobile phone corroborated the suspect’s confession as pictures of him brandishing an AK47 rifle in a forest were retrieved.
“The bandit offered one million naira cash to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), which he rejected and arrested him. He was trailed to the hotel after a tip-off by Good Samaritan.
“He has confessed to being a bandit and pictorial evidence from his mobile phone corroborates his claim. He was seen wielding an AK-47 rifle. He has given valuable information and we are interrogating him”, Mansir told WikkiTimes.
According to Hassan, the command is working with other regional commands to identify criminal elements and ensure peace and security in the affected areas.
