…Zamfara Police recovers N700,000 part of levies
Juliana Francis
The Zamfara State Police Command has arrested six men believed to be fake bandits for alleged intimidation and extortion.
The suspects are Jamilu Mohammed, Zayyanu Barmo, Abubakar Usman, Lauwali Girkau, Sala Girkau, and Abubakar Yahaya.
The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), a Superintendent of Police (SP), Mohammed Shehu, said that the sum of N700,000 was recovered and the money is believed to be part of levies the suspects collected from the villagers.
Shehu said: “On the 29th of November, 2022 at about 4:15 PM, Police Tactical operatives arrested six suspects who pretended to be 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 investigation, all the suspects confessed to the crime. Further, they stated that part of their criminal activities was to send a threatening message to the villages asking villagers to contribute and pay money to them or face attack. They further confessed to receiving millions of Naira from five different communities. A discreet investigation led to the recovery of N700,000 as part of the levies they collected from the affected villages. Effort is being made to make further arrest and recovery before being charged to court for prosecution.”