On Thursday, the Nigerian Police Force, Sokoto State Command, paraded 15 suspects at the command headquarters in Sokoto for various criminal offenses, including banditry, kidnapping, and cattle rustling, among others.
While briefing newsmen during the suspects’ parade, Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Ali Kaigama, stated that the suspects were arrested in various spots within the state.
According to CP Kaigama, “The Sokoto State Police Command has successfully foiled a kidnapping attempt at Gigani Village of Gwadabawa LGA on 14/02/2024 at about 1600hrs.
“Alleged bandits, in their numbers, shot one Ibrahim Bello, 23 years old, on his left leg while fetching water from a well at the outskirts of Gigani Village. Upon receiving the report, a team of Operation Restore Peace and Vigilante responded to the scene.
READ ALSO: Police arrest four suspected cultists in Imo
“The team bravely engaged the suspected bandits in a fierce gun duel, successfully neutralizing one of them. His GPMG Rifle with six live ammunition attached to the chain was recovered. Meanwhile, aggressive efforts are still ongoing to trace and arrest other fleeing members.
“Police operatives of the command, attached to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit and led by SP Salisu Garba, continued the fight against crime and criminality in the state. On 13/02/2024 at about 2030hrs, acting on credible intelligence, they laid an ambush along Bodinga–Tambuwal highway and arrested the following suspects:
- Abdullahi Ali, 50 years old, from Gwagabawa LGA
- Aliyu Mohammed, 35 years old, from Achida Wurno LGA
- Abdullahi Umar, 63 years old, from Achida Wurno LGA
- Aliyu Abdullahi, 28 years old, from Hammali Kware LGA
- Muhammad Anas, 30 years old, from Shuni Dange-Shuni LGA
- Muhammad Bello, 50 years old, from Dingyadi Bodinga LGA
Other arrests include Jamilu B. Yusuf, also known as Doctor, 35 years old, from Badon Hanya Sokoto; Nasiru Ibrahim, also known as Baban Sisi, 27 years old, from Kware LGA; and Sani Aliyu, 45 years old, from Kandama Wurno LGA. They allegedly served as drivers during criminal activities and were found in possession of three AK47 Rifles with ninety rounds of live ammunition, thirty from each magazine.”
CP Kaigama mentioned that preliminary interrogation revealed the suspects were heading to Tambuwal Town for a kidnapping mission. Additionally, 26 rounds of live ammunition were found in the possession of Muhammad Bello.
Furthermore, he shared an incident from 24/12/2023 when Alhaji Shehu Dangaladima, the Village Head of Gedawa Village in Wamakko LGA Sokoto, reported that unknown gunmen invaded his village at about 0000hrs and kidnapped three persons: Harande Gidado, Alhaji Buba Zaria, and Alhaji Manuga Kwaire, all males from Wamakko LGA Sokoto, to an unknown destination. The victims were released after paying a ransom of N10,000,000 each.
Continuing the investigation, four persons from Baliyo Village in Binji LGA Sokoto—Surajo Rugga, Sanda Bube, Umaru Jemmu, and Faruku Usman—were arrested. Three out of the four suspects confessed to conspiring with others (now at large) to perpetrate the crime and will soon be arraigned for prosecution.
In another development on 02/02/2024, at about 0000hrs, a team of anti-kidnapping operatives from the State CID Sokoto, acting on a tip-off, arrested Muhammadu Mode and Betuwa Dogari, both males from Bukuyum LGA, Zamfara State. They were sent to Sokoto to receive a delivery of seven hundred and ninety (790) rounds of 7.62MM AK47 live ammunition. The items were expected to be delivered to a well-known kingpin of kidnappers named Kwalle M (now at large), whose criminal activities spanned across Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara States. The ammunition was promptly recovered on 28/11/2023 by the operatives along Gaidau Illela Road in Illela LGA, Sokoto.
CP Kaigama emphasized that the investigation is still ongoing for the mentioned cases. The Command assures the public of its commitment to rid Sokoto of criminality in all its manifestations, urging residents to report suspicious activities through the emergency line: 07068848035.
