Ten suspected robbers and thugs have been arrested by the Niger State Police Command in a crackdown on criminal gangs operating in parts of Minna, with dangerous weapons and suspected cannabis recovered from the suspects.
The arrests followed separate intelligence-led patrols and raid operations conducted by police operatives in collaboration with local vigilante groups.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed in a statement on Friday three suspects were arrested while allegedly attempting to rob passengers in a tricycle along the Kwari-Begger/Maitumbi axis of Minna.
According to him, operatives attached to the Tactical Support Team were on routine patrol on June 4 when they spotted a group of armed youths wielding cutlasses and knives.
The suspects, identified as Sadiq Ibrahim, 25, Abdulazeez Ahmed, 25, and Ibrahim Abdullahi, 26, all residents of Kwari-Begger, Maitumbi, were immediately apprehended.
Abiodun said two cutlasses and a jackknife were recovered from the suspects, who allegedly confessed during interrogation that they intended to dispossess passengers of their phones and other valuables.
In a related operation, police operatives attached to the Central Police Station, alongside vigilante members, raided criminal hideouts around PZ area, Sabon-Gari, Abdulsalam Quarters, Tayi Village and Seyeno on June 2.
Seven additional suspects were arrested during the raid, while two sharp curved weapons and quantities of suspected cannabis were recovered.
The police spokesman said all the suspects are currently in custody and undergoing further investigation.
Meanwhile, he stated that the command also arrested a suspect, Abubakar Alfa, for allegedly being in possession of a locally made pistol and a cutlass at a public function in Katcha.
The suspect was arrested by operatives attached to Katcha Division on June 1 after he failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for possessing the weapon.
He has since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Minna, for further investigation.
In another development, the police recovered an abandoned Volkswagen vehicle with registration number KUJ 113 SB along the Suleja-Minna Road.
Abiodun said the vehicle had reportedly been abandoned near Farin-Doki for three days before police operatives from Paiko Division, assisted by community members, moved it to the station for safekeeping and investigation.
The command said efforts are ongoing to apprehend other members of the robbery syndicate and unravel circumstances surrounding the abandoned vehicle.
Police nab 10 suspected robbers, thugs in Minna, recover weapons
