The Niger State Police Command has arrested several suspects in connection with alleged armed robbery, theft, car theft, thuggery, vandalism and suspected child trafficking across the state.
The Command, in a crime bulletin issued on Friday by its Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said the arrests were made during routine patrols, intelligence-led operations and investigations conducted by personnel attached to various police divisions.
Among those arrested are suspects linked to the theft of a motorcycle, bags of melon seeds and a goat, while two suspects were also apprehended in connection with an allegedly stolen Mazda vehicle in which military uniforms and other items were recovered.
The Command said on September 15, 2026, operatives attached to Lapai Division arrested 25-year-old Abubakar Abdullahi of Mashina-Tifi Village, via Agaie, after he was sighted in Lapai with a suspected stolen Bajaj motorcycle bearing registration number MNA 178 UY. During interrogation, the suspect allegedly confessed to forcefully taking the motorcycle from a commercial motorcyclist after inflicting machete cuts on the rider’s neck.
Similarly, on September 20, police personnel attached to Mokwa Division arrested 25-year-old Mohammed Isa during a routine patrol after he was found with two bags of melon seeds. Police said the suspect could not satisfactorily account for the items and later confessed to stealing them from a residence in Mokwa. One of the owners has since been contacted.
Also, on September 21, operatives of the Police Rapid Response Team attached to Kpakungu Division arrested another Abubakar Abdullahi of Tunga with a suspected stolen goat valued at about N70,000. The suspect allegedly confessed to stealing the animal from the Tunga area, while efforts were made to reunite it with its owner.
In a separate operation, two suspects, Ogbonna David, 34, of Ogbo Local Government Area of Rivers State, and Chidiebere Okonkwo, 30, of Port Harcourt, were arrested in connection with an allegedly stolen Mazda vehicle intercepted at Tungan-Mallam Village, via Paiko, on September 20.
Police said a search of the vehicle led to the recovery of four solar batteries, three pairs of military camouflage, a pair of boots, a green beret, three passport photographs belonging to a military personnel, two Android phones, a keypad phone, two gas cylinders, N26,000, a knife and a bag containing spanners.
According to the Command, preliminary investigation indicated that four suspects, including a suspected soldier who allegedly acted as an escort, travelled from Abuja to the Brighter area of Minna, where they allegedly vandalised a communication mast and stole the batteries.
The suspects reportedly attempted to return to Abuja but changed direction after sighting security personnel along the Lambata Road. They subsequently followed the Paiko-Lapai Road, where two of them were arrested at Tungan-Mallam. The suspected soldier and another suspect reportedly escaped.
The two arrested suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Minna, for further investigation, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
The Command also disclosed the arrest of two suspects in connection with an armed robbery incident in which a victim was allegedly attacked and robbed at his residence on Mandela Road.
The victim had reported that unknown persons armed with cutlasses broke into his residence at about 3a.m. on August 1 and inflicted a deep machete wound on his head before taking away a TVS motorcycle, an iPhone and an Infinix phone.
Police detectives attached to Tudun-Wada Division subsequently traced one of the stolen phones to Suleiman Ibrahim of Paiko and recovered it from him. During interrogation, he allegedly provided information that led to the arrest of another suspect, Saidu Ya’u of Mandela Road, on September 23.
The two suspects allegedly confessed to the robbery and disclosed that they sold the stolen motorcycle to a man identified as Bello, who is currently at large. Police said efforts were ongoing to apprehend the alleged receiver of the stolen motorcycle.
Meanwhile, a 19-year-old man, Abdullahi Mohammed of Kpakungu, was arrested after members of the community handed him over to the police over alleged thuggery and the infliction of grievous injuries on two persons.
The Command said the suspect allegedly stormed a shop and used a cutlass to inflict a deep cut on the right leg of one victim. Another person was also injured when witnesses attempted to apprehend and subdue him. The victims are receiving treatment in hospital, while the suspect remains in police custody.
In another development, police operatives attached to Mokwa Division rescued a two-month-old baby and arrested a 35-year-old woman, Lami Bako, over suspected kidnapping and child trafficking.
The woman was intercepted around Kainji Junction at about 3:30a.m. on September 20 while carrying the crying baby. Police said the circumstances surrounding the baby’s possession raised suspicion, leading to her arrest.
During interrogation, Bako allegedly confessed that she was not the biological mother of the child and claimed that an unknown woman gave the baby to her for reasons yet to be established.
The case has been transferred to SCID for further investigation as the police work to establish the circumstances surrounding the baby’s possession, identify other persons who may be involved and reunite the child with its mother.
The Command also announced the arrest of a suspected housebreaker and vandal, identified as Hassan Isa of Bosso area, after police personnel attached to Tudun-Wada Division intercepted him during a routine patrol around High Point.
Five security lights suspected to have been vandalised were reportedly recovered from a sack the suspect was carrying. Police said he could not provide a satisfactory explanation for possessing the items and was subsequently arrested.
The Niger State Police Command said all the suspects remain in custody for further investigation, after which those found culpable will be charged to court for prosecution.
