- As 15 abductees regain freedom
The Police in Zamfara are currently spreading their dragnet in search of criminal elements posing as bandits to terrorise and impose levies on their host communities in the State.
So far, their efforts have yielded results with seven suspects, including a notorious female gunrunner who supplies arms and ammunition to a bandit leader, Dawa, arrested for their involvement in promoting banditry in the North West State.
To further gather momentum against the criminals, the Command has stepped up investigations into the case following its tactical team’s successful rescuing 15 kidnapped victims who had spent almost 50 days in the bandits’ enclave.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohammed Shehu, who addressed newsmen at the Command headquarters in Gusau on Thursday, December 1, 2022, named the female gunrunner as Game Abdulahi of Madachi village in Katsina State.
He listed the six other suspects as; Jamilu Mohammed of Gadar Manya village, Zayyanu Barmo of Manya Babba village, Abubakar Usman of Mandau Village, Lauwali Girkau of Girkau village, Sala Girkau of Girkau village and Abubakar Yahaya of Tungar Mani Village.
According to the Police Spokesperson, the sum of seven hundred thousand Naira (N700,000), being part of levies collected from the affected villages was recovered from the suspects.
The PPRO said in a statement that; “On 29th November 2022 at about 1615hrs, Police Tactical operatives arrested six (6) 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 course of the investigation, all the suspects confessed to the crime and further stated that part of their criminal activities was to send threatening messages to the villages asking them 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 the sum of Seven hundred thousand Naira as part of levies they collected from the affected villages. Efforts are being made to ensure further arrest and recovery before the suspects are charged to court for prosecution,”
On the arrested female gunrunner, Game Abdulahi, the PPRO disclosed that she specializes in supplying arms and ammunition to bandits operating in the Tsafe Local Government Area of the state.
The Command said; “On 29th November 2022 Police Tactical Operatives acted on intelligence information and arrested the above-mentioned female suspect. The female suspect is a notorious Gunrunner that specialises in transporting Arms and Ammunition to a notorious bandit kingpin Known as Dawa.
“The said bandit kingpin has been a notorious bandit leader terrorising the innocent people of Zamfara and neighbouring states. The suspect confessed to her involvement in the crime. The investigation is in progress,”
SP Shehu further stated that the police tactical operatives in collaboration with vigilantes rescued 15 victims kidnapped in Katsina State and taken to Zamfara, adding that; “Police Tactical Operatives in collaboration with Vigilante acted on intelligence information regarding the abduction of 15 victims by bandits terrorists at Dike village in Funtua LGA of Katsina State
“The Police operatives on receiving the intelligence information mobilized to the location and conducted a search and rescue operation at Sabon Garin Dustin Kaura forest in Danjibga district of Tsafe LGA.
“The rescue operation was successfully conducted, leading to the rescue of the victims’ hale and hearty. The victims were taken to the hospital for medical checks, debriefed by the Police detectives, and handed over to their families.”
Commending the Police operatives and vigilantes for the successful rescue operation, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Kolo Yusuf, congratulated the victims for regaining their freedom.
He reiterated the Command’s continuous resolve and commitment to rid the state of criminal activities, assuring those criminal elements committing heinous crimes across the state would soon be apprehended and brought to justice
