The Niger State Police Command has detained 147 suspects in a series of operations carried out against suspected thugs and criminal elements in different parts of the state.
The command said the largest of the operations took place in Suleja and surrounding communities, where 139 suspects were arrested following reports of an “unlawful assembly and violent rally”.
According to a crime bulletin issued on Friday by the command’s spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, the police moved in after reports emerged that suspected miscreants had gathered with dangerous weapons and were allegedly attacking and robbing residents.
Following the reports, the Commissioner of Police, Adam Elleman, deployed the Command’s Vigilance, Community Relations and Intelligence Unit, headed by CSP Hassan Gimba, to Suleja on August 4.
The unit subsequently carried out sting operations based on what the police described as “actionable intelligence”.
The raids covered several locations identified by the command as criminal blackspots, including Madalla, Kwata, Bakin-Ruwa, Dikko, Kaduna Road, Sabon-Wuse, Gwazunu and Chaza.
“During the raid operations, a total number of one hundred and thirty-nine suspects were arrested at different locations mentioned above,” the statement said.
The suspects were screened after their arrest, with the police alleging that 64 of them were found with suspected cannabis and various weapons.
Items reportedly recovered included scissors, knives, cutlasses and four live cartridges.
The 64 suspects were subsequently brought before the Chief Magistrate Court in Suleja.
The police said they faced allegations including criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, aiding and abetting, harbouring suspected criminals, supplying information to miscreants, causing the disappearance of evidence, mischief and possession of dangerous weapons.
“All suspects were remanded in correctional centre,” the command said.
Meanwhile, eight other suspects were arrested in separate raids on suspected criminal hideouts in Minna.
The command said operatives of the surveillance team attached to Tudun-Wada Division raided the Talakawa area of Tunga at about 4:30am on August 11.
Three suspects identified as Ashiru Sirajo, 19, Aminu Mahmud, 17, and Dadi Suleiman, 14, were arrested during the operation.
Police said a search of their residence resulted in the recovery of a long flexible cutlass, two large clubs locally known as “gora” and a shovel.
The operation was subsequently extended to Sauka-Kahuta, where another suspected thug, Jibrin Muhammad, 18, was arrested.
According to the command, Muhammad was allegedly found with two sharp daggers, an “ice bunker”, six lighters and suspected cannabis.
In another operation, four suspects were arrested during a raid on suspected criminal hideouts in Maitumbi.
The operation, carried out at about 2:45am on August 9, involved operatives of the Maitumbi Division and local vigilantes.
The suspects were identified as Buhari Aliyu, 25, Shaabal Muhammed, 20, Mubarak Ahmad, 24, and Saifullah Muhammad, 21, all residents of Challenge Junction, Maitumbi.
The police alleged that illicit substances and shisha pots were recovered from them.
“Investigation is in progress and they will be charged to court immediately after the investigation,” the command said.
The Niger Police Command said the operations formed part of its wider strategy to disrupt criminal networks, apprehend suspected offenders and strengthen security across the state.
