Operatives of the Federal Intelligence Bureau, Intelligence Response Team, and Special Tactical Squad of the Nigeria Police Force, attached to Operation Puff Adder II, have arrested 48 criminal suspects, over an alleged involvement and indictment in cases of armed robbery, kidnapping, unlawful possession of firearms, cybercrime, financial fraud and other crimes in some parts of the country.
The suspects included 47 males and one female.
The arrests were a follow up to the flagging of ‘Operation Puff Adder II’ by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on February 15, 2021, targeted at reinvigorating an ongoing fight against crimes in Nigeria and bringing the perpetrators to book.
In a statement issued on Thursday, February 25, 2021, the Force Public Relations Officer, CP Frank Mba said that items recovered from the suspects during the operations included 41 prohibited firearms made up of 14 AK-47 rifles, 10 AK-47 magazines, and 58 live cartridges.
Others were four AK-47 live ammunition, four POS machines, two laptop computers, 18 mobile phones, Internet modem and nine ATM cards.
Mba pointed out that among the notable breakthroughs was the arrest of the nine criminal suspects responsible for the kidnap of Honourable Mohammed Bashir Bape, a member of Taraba State House of Assembly, in December 2020.
The FPRO further disclosed that the suspects were apprehended at their various hideouts in Taraba and Plateau states, following an intense search by a team of the police for the perpetrators of the crime.
He added that the arrests were also a follow-up on recent spike in kidnapping and armed robbery in Taraba and the North-Central states.
He gave the names of the suspects as Yusuf Abubakar (31), an indigene of Jalingo Local Government Area of Taraba State; Muntari Umar (27), from Mayo Belwa LGA, Adamawa State; Ahmadu Dahiru (28), of Lau LGA, Taraba State, Ali Alhaji Wurungo (25), of Lau LGA, Taraba State and Buhari Nuhu (25), of Jalingo LGA.
Others were Mohammed Garba (30), of Mararaban Gasol, Taraba State; Yusuf Jibrillah (23), of Mararaban Gasol, Taraba State; Adamu Ahmadu a.k.a. Bulala (32), of Taraba State; and one Idi Suleiman.
“Investigations by the Police team revealed that the suspects are members of a notorious armed robbery/kidnapping syndicate that specializes in terrorising innocent citizens in the North-Central/North East States particularly in Plateau and Taraba States.
“Police investigations have uncovered the roles played by each member of the gang during the kidnap of the Honourable Bape. Investigations also established how the proceeds of the crime (ransom) were shared among the suspects,” the FPRO said.
He stated further that the police operatives also arrested a 12-man cybercrime syndicate for alleged internet fraud and other cyber-related offences.
The suspects, aged between 22 and 30, were arrested at a residence in Kubwa area of the Federal capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, following intelligence received by the police, Mba said.
He added that the team busted a two-man gang of a 61-year-old physically challenged man, Musa Usman, who resides in Anambra State but is from Kebbi State, and one Ahmed Shuaibu (27) , an indigene of Nasarawa State, for complicity in the distribution and sale of illicit drugs to bandits in their camps at Babuga, Nasarawa State.
The FPRO revealed that the physically-challenged suspect had been taking advantage of his physical state to evade police attention, until his eventual arrest.
Thirty-five wraps of substance, suspected to be cocaine, were recovered from the suspects, he stated further.
Noting that ‘Operation Puff Adder II’ was already yielding positive results barely 10 days after its flag-off, the IGP assured the general public that the police force would not relent in its commitment at re-dominating and reclaiming the public space from criminals.
