The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba has disclosed that the Force Intelligence Bureau Special Tactical Squad (FIB-STS) has arrested thirty suspects for complicity in the crimes of kidnapping, armed robbery, and other crimes.
In a statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer Abuja CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Alkali while commending the effort of the operatives, said other crimes connected to the arrested suspects are arms smuggling, unlawful possession of prohibited firearms, car theft, rape, receiving stolen goods, amongst others.
He said FIB-STS equally recovered a total of eight AK47 rifles, eight revolver rifles, two thousand two hundred (2,200) rounds of live ammunition of different calibres, twelve (14) AK47 magazines, three (3) stolen cars, 10 fake number plates and a cash sum of one million, eight hundred and eighty thousand (1,880,000) naira from the suspects during follow-up investigations.
Notable amongst the cases is the arrest of one Ahmed Yunusa, aka “Yellow Ashana”, a 36-year-old leader of a vicious bandit group that has been terrorising communities and road users along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway.
The suspect who has been on the run following a police operation that led to the death of a member of his syndicate, one Yellow Magaji aka Arushe, was arrested during a sting operation by police operatives of the FIB-STS.
The suspect confessed that he led the syndicate which has carried out several kidnapping operations on the Abuja-Kaduna expressway, and launched three different attacks on Kadara Community in Kaduna State, wherein scores of persons were killed.
He equally confessed to the kidnap and murder of one Hafsat Isah, who was lured into the bandit camp by her friend, one Ladi Sale that was equally arrested by the police.
Also arrested was one Mrs Nvou Michael, a 37-year-old female from Vom LGA, Plateau State, who was intercepted by operatives along Samminaka/Jos expressway, Kaduna State, in possession of 15 locally made rifles and 400 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm AK47 ammunition in a Toyota Hummer bus traveling from Jos, Plateau State to Kaduna State.
Mr Alkali said the investigations revealed that Mrs Nvou Michael was an arms smuggler for some bandit groups in Kaduna State.
Similarly, Police operatives arrested one Nuhu Yakubu, a 33-year-old male from Donga, Taraba State, while conveying 1,500 AK47 ammunition from Wukari to bandits in the Donga Forest.
He said the Operatives also apprehended Idris Abdulwahab, 26-year-old, and Adams Ibrahim, 37-year-old, both from Okene, Kogi State, who has been linked to major bank robbery operations at Ondo State, and in Egbe, Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, in 2021, where they killed a security guard.
According to him, the suspects specialized in the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to forcefully gain access into banks for their robbery operations, were intercepted by eagle-eyed police operatives at a checkpoint in Isonu, Kogi State, while heading to Okene from their forest hideout, with a cash sum of one million, eight hundred and eighty thousand Naira (N1,880,000).
The IGP while assuring the nation that the Force would continue to close up on these criminal elements who pose a threat to national security, called on well-meaning members of the public to readily assist the police with information to effectively combat the purveyors of violent crimes in the society.
