The Nigeria Police Force, Niger State Police Command has arrested several suspects for offences ranging from negligence and culpable homicide to theft, impersonation and fraud in different parts of the state.
According to the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, a tragic incident occurred on March 1 in Suleja where a 16-year-old boy, Emmanuel Danladi, allegedly shot and killed his friend while playing with a loaded dane gun.
Police said the teenager and the victim, Titus Joseph, 15, were playing inside their house when Emmanuel picked up the gun belonging to his father, Danladi Baba, a member of a local vigilante group, and accidentally fired at close range, hitting Titus in the stomach. The victim died from the injury.
Operatives from Maje Division responded to the report, evacuated the corpse to the General Hospital in Suleja and arrested both the teenager and his father for negligence and culpable homicide. The firearm used in the incident was recovered, while the suspects and exhibit were transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Minna for further investigation and prosecution.
In a separate operation on March 2, police patrol officers attached to Maje Division intercepted a vehicle along the Maje–Kwamba Road in Suleja during routine stop-and-search. The blue Sharon vehicle, driven by Danjuma Mohammed, was found conveying six bags containing mining items suspected to have been stolen or fraudulently obtained from a mining company in Kataeregi.
Two other occupants of the vehicle, Amir Shuaibu and Shamsudeen Umar, reportedly failed to give satisfactory explanations regarding the items concealed in the bags. The suspects were arrested and the items recovered for further investigation.
Meanwhile, police in Mokwa arrested four suspects linked to motorcycle theft following credible intelligence about a criminal hideout along Jebba Road. The Divisional Police Officer led a patrol team to the location on March 8, where one Yahaya Alh. Nma was first arrested and three Bajaj motorcycles and one TVS motorcycle suspected to have been stolen were recovered.
Further investigation led to the arrest of three additional suspects — Abdullahi Usman, Idris Mohammed and Mohammed Ndako who reportedly confessed to stealing several motorcycles within Mokwa. Police said efforts are ongoing to apprehend other members of the gang and recover more stolen motorcycles.
In Bida, police arrested a suspected fraudster, Yahaya Mohamed, accused of impersonating a police officer to obtain phone repair services without payment. Phone technicians reported that the suspect allegedly carried out similar acts in February and January this year at shops in the FMC Complex area before fleeing without paying for the repairs.
The suspect reportedly confessed to the offence and investigation is ongoing to identify other victims before prosecution.
Also in Bida, another suspect, Abubakar Lawal, was arrested with a goat believed to have been stolen. During interrogation, he admitted that the goat belonged to a resident behind a sawmill and that he intended to sell the animal.
In another development, two suspects Abraham Pius Agada and Moses Ochapa were arrested in Suleja for allegedly using fake debit alerts to defraud shop owners. Police said the suspects used the fraudulent alerts to obtain five litres of engine oil valued at about ₦20,000 from a shop along Danlatu Road.
The suspects reportedly confessed to carrying out similar scams in Keffi and Suleja. Police recovered a Toyota Corolla and more than a dozen litres of engine oil believed to have been obtained through the scheme.
According to the command, the suspects were charged to court on March 11 and have been remanded in a correctional centre. Police said investigations are ongoing in other cases, while efforts continue to apprehend additional suspects connected to the crimes.
