The Niger State Police Command has apprehended sixteen individuals in connection with alleged thuggery, public disturbance, and possession of dangerous weapons and cannabis.
This was revealed by the state’s Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, during a briefing in Minna.The arrests were made as part of the Command’s efforts to address rising cases of phone snatching and attacks on unsuspecting members of the public in the state capital. According to Abiodun, the suspects were apprehended on October 15, 2024, at around 4:00 a.m., after police received information that a group of armed miscreants had been spotted along the Eastern Bypass near the PDP Secretariat in Minna.“Officers from Tudun-Wada Division were immediately dispatched to the area. Surveillance was conducted, and during the operation, sixteen suspects were found lodged in a hotel room along the Bypass,” Abiodun explained.Among the items recovered from the suspects were two cutlasses, two knives, suspected cannabis, shisha apparatus, and injection substances. The arrested individuals include Hafis Yakubu, 24; Alhassan Aliyu, 15; Abubakar Aminu, 15; Badamasi Abdulmumini, 18; Hassan Sani, 14; Fahad Idris, 14; Abubakar Yusuf, 15; Sadiq Aliyu, 17; Mustapha Yakubu, 18; Masaud Idris, 15; Usman Abubakar, 19; and Adamu Abdulmumini, 15, all from Abdulsalam Quarters. Others are Nasiru Kabiru, 15; Mubarak Ibrahim, 18; Abubakar Sani, 14; and Abdulsamad Abubakar, 15, from Kuta Road, Minna.During interrogation, the suspects claimed they were at the hotel to celebrate the birthday of Hafis Yakubu and said the weapons were meant for self-defense against rival youths from the Kafintella area. “They admitted to being involved in ongoing conflicts with Kafintella boys,” Abiodun added.Abiodun further disclosed that additional raids were conducted in hotspots such as Angwan-Roka, New Market, and Maitumbi, where around 30 suspects were arrested and charged to court. In Bajego, on Okada Road, one Shabban Umar was arrested with sharp scissors, while two others, Mohammed Zakari (also known as ‘M2’) and an individual known as ‘that guy,’ managed to escape. The police are continuing to monitor these areas closely.All sixteen suspects are currently under investigation at the Tudun-Wada Division, and according to the police, they will be prosecuted once investigations are concluded.
