Sophia Michaels
Several suspects accused of crimes such as armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, and one-chance incidents have been arrested by the police in Abuja.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Haruna Garba, who paraded the suspects before newsmen on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, said following distress call about a robbery incident at the residence of one Dayo Balogun of Zone B Apo resettlement, police operatives from Apo division swiftly mobilised to the scene and apprehended one Ogbonna Ezechukwu of Area 1.
The CP revealed that Ezechukwu is a notorious and wanted armed robber who has broken into many homes within Apo axis with members of his gang who are presently at large.
“A bag containing gold earrings, a laptop, four wristwatches, and other valuables was recovered from the suspect. He is assisting the Police in an effort to arrest his accomplices on the run,” the CP stated.
In a similar development, on October 15, police operatives from Mpape Division, while on routine patrol, arrested one Musa Ayelolo, a tipper driver and recovered a locally made pistol with two live cartridges from him. The suspect will be charged to court at the conclusion of the investigation,” CP Garba noted.
On October 17, an informant and logistic supplier to a gang of kidnappers, Muhammed Suleman, aka Bardi, was trailed and arrested by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Command, following credible intelligence.
In the course of interrogation by the police, the suspect confessed to being an informant and food supplier to bandits terrorising Mpape, Bwari, and Byazhin axis and getting a usual ₦10,000 to ₦15,000 rewards for carrying out the tasks
The Commissioner noted that Suleman, who is now cooperating with the police to arrest other gang members currently at large, is also a close associate of wanted bandit leaders – Buba and Nasiru (surnames unknown).
Meanwhile, following a report by one Sunday Idemudo that his ash-coloured Toyota Corolla car Reg No: ENU 104 JZ 2023 was discovered to have been removed from where it was parked at Michael Opara Way, Wuse zone 5, at the close of work on October 16, police operatives from Utako Division swung into action, tracked and recovered the vehicle at Tollgate, Kaduna State with the help of Reconstructive Digital Analysis (Tracking).
Two suspects – Mohammed Yunusa and Ibrahim Haliru were arrested in possession of the car and are now cooperating with the police to apprehend other accomplices currently on the run.
Also, the new ‘Operation Sting and anti-one chance squad,’ created by the FCT Police Command in an effort to rid the city of one chance activities, carried out coordinated operations and impounded nine tinted vehicles suspected to be used for one chance activities.
The vehicles impounded include a red Golf with Reg. No. ABJ 897 DC; White Peugeot 206 with Reg. No. JJJ 638; Ford Vita Black with Reg. No RBC 567 MK; Nissan Almeira with Reg. No. AWK 260 IB; Toyota Corolla Gold in Colour with Reg. No. ABJ 590 AE; Mazda 323 Protege with Reg. No. RBC 258 XC; Toyota Corolla Gold in colour with Reg. No. LD 364; Toyota Corolla with Reg. No. YAB 561 EH Black in colour, and a vehicle with Reg. No. ABJ 597 TH.
In the same vein, on October 22, police operatives from CPS, while on routine patrol, intercepted a Gold coloured Toyota Corolla with hand-inscribed Reg. No. RSH 287 is suspected to be used for one-chance activities at phase 1 Federal Secretariat.
On sighting police operatives, the suspect took to his heels leaving behind both the car and the victim whom he had attempted to rob. In the course of searching the vehicle, a locally made pistol, jack knife and a rope were recovered from the vehicle,” Garba revealed.
On October 20, police operatives from the anti-violent crime section of the Command arrested one Aliru Shuaibu and recovered a Hyundai Accent Car with Reg. No AAA 903 CG, being the property of one Yusuf Ibrahim, is reported to have been stolen from No. 3 Gwarimpa Estate Abuja on 28/09/2023.
The CP further advised members of the public to rethink handing over their original particulars to their servants or drivers while noting that a preliminary investigation by the police revealed that the suspect, who was a driver to the owner of the vehicle, removed the vehicle from the house and was able to sell it because the original particulars of the vehicle were in his possession.
On the same day, police operatives at Utako Division received a distress call that a Toyota Prado SUV jeep with Reg. No. KWL 276 CL was snatched at gunpoint from the owner at Utako by armed hoodlums.
The police operatives, however, gave the hoodlums a hot chase, forcing them to abandon the vehicle and take to their heels. The vehicle was recovered within two hours and has since been released to the owner.
Earlier on October 18, one Abubakar Umar, who specialises in receiving stolen items from a nine-man armed robbery gang, was arrested via actionable intelligence.
Umar’s arrest led to the arrest of three other members of the notorious armed robbery syndicate, namely – Ahmed Umar, Gadafi Suraju, and Abubakar Sadiq Umar, who carried out a robbery operation behind Customary Court, Arab Road Kubwa, on 03/09/2023.
Several stolen items, such as laptops, iPads, mobile phones, and television sets, amongst others, were recovered from the suspects, who have all confessed to the robbery and will be charged in court after investigation
Meanwhile, on October 23, police operatives from the Maitama Division, while on routine patrol, arrested one Shamsu Umar, who is a member of a three-man gang, while trying to rob one Mrs Aisha Hakeem and her husband along the Maitama expressway. The hoodlums swooped on them while the couple stopped to fix their broken-down vehicle.
CP Garba noted that the modus operandi of this gang is to patrol the expressway with their motorcycle, and when any person is found standing alone waiting to board a vehicle, or while the vehicle has a mechanical fault, as in this instant case, they move in to dispossess their victims of their valuables.
“The motorcycle used in the operation has been impounded, and the suspect is in custody assisting the Police to apprehend his gang members.
“In conclusion, therefore, I wish to reassure you that the FCT Police Command, under my leadership, will do all that is humanly possible to prevent crime and criminality, but when it does occur, to detect it. To all law-abiding residents of the FCT, I wish to solicit your support and cooperation in the spirit of community policing. Together, we shall defeat crime in the FCT,” Garba said.
