By Dele Ogbodo
Ahead of the forthcoming elections, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Bala Ciroma, on Monday said the command
has recalled all officers on leave to ensure a hitch-free exercise.
Bala, who paraded 16 suspects involved in various forms of armed robbery, car and bike snatching to fraudulently obtaining money from individuals and a commercial bank on behalf of a kidney patient, acknowledged that its personnel have undergone training on election security management.
He said: “To meet up with its constitutional mandate of protecting lives and property, the Command has been engaged in aggressive intelligence gathering, raid of identified black-spots and criminal hideouts, diligent investigations of cases, foot and motorised patrols, conduct of stop and search operations and community engagement.”
On the arrest of suspects between December last year and January, the CP, said Police detectives launched a discreet investigation that led to the arrest of one Goodluck Onyewenyi, for fraudulently opening a bank account with the name of a patient suffering from kidney failure who is in dire need of financial assistance to undergo kidney transplant.
Also following a tip off, Ciroma, said on the 8 police operatives on patrol around Wuye, arrested one Valentine Ezeogu, in possession of a polythene containing an object discovered to be human skull.
Responding to distress call, he said police foiled an armed robbery attempt and arrested some suspects who went to rob residents of a house at 1st avenue Gwarimpa district of FCT.
“One Abubakar Saidu, leader of the gang was arrested at the scene by the Police patrol team. While his cohorts, one Abdulrahaman Usman, Ibrahim Isa, Abbas Muhammed, and Gambo Ibrahim were later arrested by police detectives at their hideouts.
“The suspects in their statements claimed that firearms used for their robbery operations were those procured for them to guard a Filling Station in Kwali.
“The exhibits recovered from the suspects include: three pump actions and thirty-five (35) rounds of live cartridges.” He added.
On the same date, Police operatives attached to the command on safer highway patrol team on duty at Yangoji, Kwali upon suspicion arrested one Ibrahim Iliya, Rilwanu Abdullahi, Victor Besini, in possession of an unregistered boxer motorcycle that was later discovered to have been robbed from its owner at Kpada village. The owner of the recovered motorcycle is currently on admission in the hospital as a result of the injuries inflicted on him by the suspects.
The suspects are notorious for attacking their victims with dangerous weapon and inflicting injurious on them, he added.
Anthony Barnabas, a notorious armed robber and cab driver was also arrested for robbing his passenger with a knife. The suspected was reported to have robbed his female victim of her phone and cash sum of two hundred thousand N200,000
While on stop and search operation, police operatives at Nyanya arrested one Tochukwu Nwodo, and his accomplices Gabriel Ileso and Michael Damelak, in possession of a fabricated pistol and three live ammunitions. The suspects confessed during interrogation that the firearm was supplied to them by one Friday Audu, and they were going for a robbery operation before the vigilant policemen arrested them.
The following exhibits were also recovered from the suspect in the course of investigation: Two fabricated pistols, 11 rounds of live ammunition, one expended ammunition and some military accoutrements.
At Orozo, police arrested one Michael Ashara David, in possession of one locally made pistol and three (3) rounds of live ammunitions. The suspect is known to be specialist in robbing his victims of their phones and other valuables was arrested while on his way for a robbery operation.
Sunday Onu, and Friday Omoniyi,were paraded on 28 for the theft of a Toyota Camry which was stolen from where it was parked in Jabi in December, 2018.
The suspects use fabricated master keys to steal cars from where they are parked. The following were recovered from the suspects as exhibits: one ash colour Toyota Camry with registration number KWL 959 EW, one light green colour Toyota carina E with registration number CV 258 FST, one master key, one cutlass and ten number plates. He said investigation is still ongoing on the various arrest.