By Labaran Tijani, Lokoja.
Kogi state police command has arrested 13 suspects for various offence, including kidnapping, armed robbery and culpable homicide perpetrated in various parts of the state, and recovered the total sum of N2.18 million from some of the culprits.
The out-going Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Ali Janga disclosed this on Thursday in Lokoja while parading the suspects at the command headquarters in the capital city.
CPJanga said the arrests were in compliance with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, to reinvigorate crime prevention and detection
strategies and measures to ensure adequate security throughout the
yuletide period.
The state police commissioner who used the occasion to announce his redeployment to Bauchi State command of the Nigerian Police said the command adopted the strategies and other operational measures to apprehend suspected criminals.
According to him, the strategies includes, intensive patrol, raid of identified criminal hideouts, black spots and flash points as well as conduct of “stop and search operations” across the state, saying that tremendous successes had been achieved.
Explaining, CP Janga said that three of the suspects, Adamu Lawal, Sani Mohammed and Haruna Musa were arrested on December 9, by Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squard (SARS) with a ransom money of N2.1 million and two handsets which they had earlier collected from their victims during their operation.
He added that their strategy of stop -and -search on Okene-Lagos road which has made the command to arrest the kidnappers was due to intelligence report that Obajana, Ogori and Okene-Lagos roads were no longer safe for motorists because of criminal activities.
The out-going police commissioner also paraded members of another gang, including Abdulmalik Adinoyi, Iliyasu Danjuma alias (Okafor), Mohammed Sani and Ojo Isah who were arrested on December 23, over alleged kidnap of a pastor’s son and one Umar Yahaya in Inike area of Okene.
CP Janga said items recovered from them includes, one pump action rifle, one single barrel gun, a locally made pistol, four live cartridges, two masks, a set of three-star Army General uniform and sum of N75,000 out of N100,000 taken from one Umar Yahaya, their victim.
Also paraded, include another gang of four suspects, comprising Abel Musa, Ameh James, Abel Abuh and Thomas Wada for allegedly dispossessing one Achile Sumaila of his motorcycle at gun-point in Akpagidigbo community, Ofu Local Government in the state.
He said one Ayuba Musa who conspired with others, now at large, and allegedly killed one Tahiru of Odun Opake in Ofu Local Government and made away with his motorcycle was also paraded.
In an interview with journalists, all the paraded criminals confessed their criminal activities, and pleaded for mercy.
However, the outgoing police commissioner said the suspects will be charged to court, once their investigations on their cases are completed.
