Juliana Francis
The Nigeria Police announced that Operatives of the Force Intelligence Bureau Intelligence Response Team (FIB-IRT) have smashed a cartel involved in arms running and recovered 57 AK47 rifles and a cache of ammunition.
The Police disclosed that the arrest and recoveries were during a sting operation by FIB-IRT.
The suspects, Hamza Zakari 20, Abubakar Muhammed, 22, Umar Ibrahim 25, and Muhammed Abdulkarim, 37, were arrested following a credible intelligence on their nefarious activities in Jos and its environs.
The suspects, who confessed to their involvement in arms dealings and other criminal acts, have been identified as one of the major links for the supply of arms and ammunition to criminal elements terrorising the state and some other parts of the country.
It was gathered that a police team was on the trail of their accomplices.
The Force spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, revealed that the cache of ammunition was not only recovered in Jos, but also in other locations across the country.
He added: “This is in furtherance of the IGP’s recent charge to the men of the Nigeria Police Force to be dauntless in the fight against crimes and criminality in the country.”
Similarly, operatives of the FIB-IRT acting on a tip-off, smashed and arrested three suspected gun runners in Ibi Local Government Area (LGA) of Taraba State.
The suspects, Bello Sani, Venab Puncat, and Yusuf Nahoda, during interrogation, confessed to having purchased one AK47 rifle, and one SMG rifle at the cost of N900,000.
Adejobi said: “Concerted effort has been activated to arrest their collaborators and recover the exhibits. The Inspector-General of Police, (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba, while commending the successes recorded by the FIB-IRT, reassured members of the public of his administration’s commitment to the fight against common enemies of the nation who are hell-bent on causing pains, tears, and agony to Nigerians. He also called for continuous support for the Police and the security community, as the Nigeria Police Force under his leadership will up its game to ensure public safety, peace and security via intelligence-led, technology-driven, and robust community–based partnership for better security architecture in Nigeria.”
