The Niger State Police Command has apprehended a 16-year-old alongside three other individuals in connection with alleged drug offences, kidnapping, and armed robbery across the state.
The arrests were confirmed on Sunday in a statement by Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun.
The teenage suspect, Usman Aliyu, was caught on 8 January in the Kantoma area of Suleja following reports of suspected hoodlums operating in the community.
“Information received indicated that some hoodlums were sighted around Kantoma area of Suleja, smoking suspected cannabis,” the statement read. Abiodun explained that officers from ‘B’ Division, Suleja, were deployed to the location.
Aliyu reportedly attempted to flee but was apprehended with four cutlasses, a jackknife, and six sachets of alleged illicit tablets.
According to Abiodun, Aliyu confessed to selling drugs to residents in the area. He has since been arraigned in court and is facing prosecution following police investigations.
The statement also highlighted the arrest of three other suspects linked to kidnapping and armed robbery.
On 16 January, the Force Intelligence Department’s Special Tactical Squad arrested Mamman Bello, 18; Ibrahim Adamu, 20; and Umar Abubakar, 25. Bello and Adamu were apprehended in Ilorin, Kwara State, after reportedly moving from Niger State to Patigi Local Government Area.
“During interrogation, it was revealed that Ibrahim joined the group from Beji while Bello also joined from Ogbomosho, and both confessed to different kidnapping activities within the state,” the statement read. Police added that the suspects were planning another abduction before their arrest and remain under further investigation.
Umar Abubakar was arrested in Garatu for his alleged role in an armed robbery in Beji.
He reportedly confessed and named other accomplices as Wode, Black, and Moh’d. Police said the gang sold a stolen motorcycle for six hundred thousand naira at Tunga-Mallam and shared the proceeds, while efforts continue to apprehend the remaining members.
