Yemi Akinsuyi/
Police authorities have told how a suspected armed robbery gang leader mistakenly shot himself in the leg during operation in Kubwa, Abuja.
Twenty-five-year-old Ali Sule, identified as an indigene of Idah village in Kogi State and leader of a 5-man gang, was arrested by the Force Intelligence Bureau, comprising of Special Tactical Squad (STS) and Intelligence Response Team (IRT), alongside his four accomplices, namely Abdulrahman Usman, Yakubu Mohammed, Abdul Jubrin, all indigenes of Kogi and Samuel Edwin from Benue.
According to the police, they were earlier involved in an attack on two officers in Kogi during which they carted away two AK47 rifles.
While parading the suspects in Abuja today, the Force Spokesperson, Commissioner of Police (CP) Frank Mba said the gang was smashed by the police based on intelligence and assistance of members of the public.
Mba said that the arrested felons confessed to have earlier, last year, attacked two policemen who were riding on a motorcycle and took away two rifles from the officers.
Mba added, “Following the incident, Operatives of IRT opened up investigations and a careful follow up on the case led to the arrest of the five gang members after a successful robbery operation at a pharmaceutical shop in Kubwa.
“During the operation, one of the robbers in the cause of trying to fire the rifle mistakenly fired himself and was eventually arrested. This led to the arrest of four others and the recovery of the two rifles.”
Speaking at the police parade, the suspected gang leader, Sule, pleaded guilty for taking active role in the attack on the two officers and other criminal offenses.
He said, “My guys informed me of two policemen who were in the early hours of the day driving on motorcycle with their rifles along Gwagwa Road in Kogi State.
“So we cut a cashew tree and beat the one at the back, he fell down and we collected the two rifles from their hands and immediately hid them in the bush for one month.
“After one month, l told them that instead of wasting the rifles in the bush, there is one pharmacy at my area. It is better we use the guns for the operation. So they came and we went to the pharmacy.
“When we got there, we charged them but they were not having much money, so we collected their phones, laptop and other belongings. We didn’t know how to shoot the gun. When I mistakenly touched the thread, the bullet hit me in the leg.”
Mba revealed that a total of 48 suspects, including a female were arrested, and 27 weapons of assorted make (14 of the Kalashnikov family), two Soft Machine guns, one Pump Action gun, a Beretta Pistol, laptops, Phones, POS machines, assorted charms, and other kinds of weapons were recovered from the suspects.
According to him, the arrests were made by operatives of the Force Intelligence Bureau, specifically the STS, IRT among others.
He said, “The suspects paraded today are suspects who have been properly investigated, profiled for cases of kidnapping, murder, armed robbery, cattle rustling, cybercrime, unlawful possessions of prohibited weapons and other related offences clearly established against them.
“Notable, among the breakthroughs, is the arrest of the nine criminal suspects responsible for the kidnap of Honourable Mohammed Bashir Bape, Member, Taraba State House of Assembly in December, 2020. The suspects were apprehended at their various hideouts in Taraba and Plateau States following an intense search by the Police team for the perpetrators of the crime and follow-up on recent spike in kidnapping/armed robbery in Taraba and the North-Central states of the country. They are Yusuf Abubakar, 31 years, a native of Jalingo LGA Taraba State, Muntari Umar, 27, a native of Mayo Belwa LGA, Adamawa State; Ahmadu Dahiru, 28, native of Lau LGA, Taraba State, Ali Alhaji Wurungo, 25, native of Lau LGA Taraba State, Buhari Nuhu, 25, native of Jalingo LGA, Mohd Garba, 30, native of Mararaban Gasol, Taraba State; Yusuf Jibrillah 23, native of Mararaban Gasol in Taraba, Adamu Ahmadu aka Bulala 32, native of Taraba and one Idi Suleiman.
“Investigations by the police team revealed that the suspects are members of a notorious armed robbery/kidnapping syndicate that specializes in terrorizing innocent citizens in the North-Central/North East States, particularly in Plateau and Taraba states. Police investigations have uncovered the roles played by each member of the gang during the kidnap of the Honourable Member. Investigations also established how the proceeds of the crime were shared among the suspects.
“The police operatives also arrested a 12-man cybercrime syndicate for internet fraud and other cyber-related offences. The suspects, with their ages within the range of 22 and 30, were arrested at a residence in the Kubwa area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja following intelligence received by the Police.
“Similarly, the Police team busted a 2-man gang of a 61-year-old physically challenged man, Musa Usman from Kebbi State who resides in Anambra State and one Ahmed Shuaibu, 27, a native of Nasarawa State for complicity in the distribution and sale of illicit/dangerous drugs to bandits in their camps at Babuga, Nasarawa State. The physically challenged man has been taking advantage of his physical state to evade police attention until his eventual arrest. Thirty-five wraps of substance suspected to be cocaine were recovered from the suspects.
“The Inspector-General of Police, while noting that the Operation Puff Adder II is already yielding positive results barely 10 days after it was flagged-off, has assured that the Force will not relent in its commitment at re-dominating and reclaiming the public space from criminals that are hell-bent on threatening the internal security order of the country and bringing such suspects to justice.”
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