Police in Zamfara arrest female gunrunner, 6 others
The Zamfara State Police Command said it has arrested a suspected female gunrunner for supplying arms and ammunition to the notorious armed bandit known as Dawa.
The suspect, Gaje Abdullahi, a native of Katsina was arrested on November 29 by Police Tactical Operatives and was accused of giving information to bandits
While parading the suspect alongside six others at the command headquarters on Thursday in Gusau, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Shehu, said the suspects were arrested for offences related to banditry, arms supply, intimidation, and extortion.
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The police also arrested six other suspected bandits and kidnappers alleged to be sending messages to members of communities to pay levies or face attacks.
The suspects are Jamilu Mohammed of Gadar Manya village, Zayyanu Barmo of Manya Babba village, Abubakar Usman of Mandau Village, Lauwali Girkau of Girkau village, Sala Girkau of Girkau village and Abubakar Yahaya of Tungar Mani Village.
Shehu said, “On 29th November 2022 at about 1615hrs, Police Tactical operatives arrested six suspects who pretend as bandits to place levies on their host communities. As a result, they collected millions of naira through a bank account they created for this purpose.
“In the course of the investigation, all the suspects confessed to the crime and further stated that part of the activities was to send threatening messages to the villages to either pay money or face an attack. They further confessed to receiving millions of naira from five different communities. The discreet investigation is ongoing aimed at apprehending other suspects that involve in this crime.”
Police operatives also rescued 15 kidnap victims, including a one-year-old baby who was abducted from the Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina.
“Police Tactical Operatives in collaboration with vigilantes acted on intelligence information regarding the abduction of 15 victims by bandits, and terrorists at Dike village in Funtua LGA of Katsina State.
“The Police operatives on receiving the intelligence information mobilised to the location and conducted a search and rescue operation at Sabon Garin Dustin Kaura Forest in Danjibga district of Tsafe LGA. The rescue operation was successfully conducted, leading to the rescue of the victims Hale and Hearty,” the police spokesman said.
The victims were taken to the hospital for medical checks, debriefed by the detectives and handed over to their families,” he said.
Commissioner of Police, Kolo Yusuf, while commending the police operatives and vigilantes for the successful rescue operation, congratulated the victims for regaining their freedom, and reiterated the command’s continuous determination to rid the state of criminal activities and apprehend criminal elements committing heinous crimes across the state.
