The Nigeria Police Force High Command on Tuesday announced that, in its renewed fight against criminal activities nationwide, Police Operatives have arrested 199 suspects for sexual-related offenses, 143 suspects for cultism, and 1,575 suspects for various other crimes.
While parading the suspects before newsmen in Abuja, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said, “Over the last month, the Nigeria Police Force has made remarkable achievements in the fight against crime and criminality, including violent crimes, recording the arrest of 295 armed robbery suspects, 186 kidnappers, 271 murder/homicide suspects, and 71 suspects for unlawful possession of firearms.”
According to him, “The total number of firearms recovered stands at 185, with a total of 4,087 rounds of ammunition of various calibers recovered, 111 vehicles recovered, and 129 rescued kidnapped victims.”
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Those paraded included an Abuja-based Disc Jockey, Raymond Terver, popularly known as DJ Ice, who was arrested by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team for allegedly purchasing expensive drinks and other goods using fake alerts.
ACP Adejobi said the suspect sold the drinks and other goods through intermediaries to conceal his identity.
He explained that DJ Ice ran out of luck after he purchased drinks from a hotel in August using a fake alert.
Adejobi added that the suspect, who started the crime in June 2024, made over ₦8 million from the crime, which he used to purchase DJ equipment.
According to him, “The suspect was arrested in August 2024 for purchasing goods using fake payment alerts.
“He admitted to starting this scheme in June 2024, ordering expensive drinks, particularly Hennessy XO, from the ‘For You’ Hotel and Restaurant in Jabi, Abuja.
“He would send fake payment receipts via WhatsApp, arrange for a dispatch rider to collect the drinks, and then send them through intermediaries to conceal his identity. Terver revealed he generated the fake alerts using the Paint app on his computer.
“The restaurant noticed discrepancies in their inventory and reported the issue to the IRT, which led to his arrest. After a thorough investigation, he confessed to making over ₦8 million from this fraud, which he used to buy DJ equipment.”
While fielding questions from newsmen, DJ Ice said he took to crime due to the hardship in the country.
According to him, “The reason I decided to go down this path is because of hardship, sir. I was eager to make money and get DJ equipment for myself. I have been in this line of business for up to 15 years.
All this while, I have been looking for ways to get money to buy equipment. I bought them for about ₦5 million. I had not started using the equipment before I was arrested. I bought it in August. I feel very sorry for myself.”
While narrating how he perpetrated the crime, he said, “I went through Google, and I found this restaurant. I chatted them up, asked if they had certain goods, particularly liquor.
“They said yes, and then I fabricated a receipt on my computer using the Paint app and sent it to them as confirmed payment. I then asked if I could send a dispatch rider to pick it up, and they agreed. I sent the dispatch rider, and they gave him the goods. That’s how I did it.”
Also paraded was a suspect accused of killing a police officer in Ogun State, Kayode Johnson, also known as Baddoo.
The FPRO disclosed that the suspect was arrested on June 12, 2024.
According to him, “The suspect confessed to being the gang leader of a group of armed robbers who operated in the Ikorodu/Ijebu-Ode axis. He stated that they made away with the policeman’s AK-47 rifle after killing him.
The AK-47 rifle was later recovered from one of the gang members by the Lagos State Police Command. Upon his arrest, two locally made pistols, four live cartridges, and one cutter were recovered.”
