The Nigerian Police Command have arrested 21 deadly robbers, kidnappers,others and recovered dangerous weapons in major operations across the country.
Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who confirmed the development in a statement on Friday May 13 said they were arrested by Force Intelligence Bureau Intelligence Response Team (FIB-IRT).
Parading the suspects at the force headquarters on Friday, Adejobi said those arrested include suspects of violent crimes such as culpable homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, arms trafficking, possession of prohibited firearms, rape, amongst others.
He said “The FIB-IRT also recovered a total of 52 firearms including 1 Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) Launcher, 1 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), 36 AK47 Rifles, 2 English shotguns, 5 locally-made shotguns, 5 locally-made automatic pistols, 4 pump action shotguns, two thousand and forty-five (2,045) rounds of live ammunition of different calibres, one DAF Truck loaded with 45,000 litres of premium motor spirit (PMS), 2 Motor Vehicles, 3 Mobile Phones, Two machetes, and five tear gas cannisters from the suspects during follow-up investigations
“Similarly, two suspects, one Badong Audu aged 48 years old of Namu Village in Plateau State, and one Chimezie Okolie aged 44 years old, of Ekwusigo in Anambra State, both males, were arrested following credible intelligence of an impending arms movement from Jos, through Nasarawa state, to the Eastern part of the country.
“The FIB-IRT Operatives swung into action and apprehended Badong Audu on 26th April, 2022 at Namu Village with 2 AK47 Rifles and 51 rounds of live ammunition concealed in a bag of beans. Investigations led to the arrest of the receiver, Chimezie Okolie, at Nasarawa State, where he was waiting to take delivery of the arms and ammunition.
“The gallant operatives of the FIB-IRT, acting on a tip off that a DAF Truck carrying 45,000 litres of premium motor spirit (PMS), had been hijacked at Saminaka Village, Niger State at gun point and the occupants abducted, equally mobilized and intercepted the hoodlums at Lambata Area of Niger State, where the truck was recovered and four suspects were arrested.
The operatives, with the aid of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers’ Association Suleja Depot, were able to recover the PMS which had been discharged by the suspects.
“The Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, while commending the FIB-IRT operatives for the successes recorded, assured of the Force’s commitment to dutifully following up on established cases, conclusively investigating such with a bid to bring all persons found wanting to justice.”
All the suspects will be arraigned in court on completion of investigations, the spokesperson added.
