The success of Operation Puff Adder launched recently by the Inspector General of Police is yielding results at complementing the efforts of the military in the war against insurgency and criminalities in Borno state. SADIQ ABUBAKAR gives a breakdown of successes so far.
In spite of the counter insurgency operations by the military, recently, Boko Haram insurgents seem to be re-emerging to perpetrate their activities. However, the Borno state police command has been up its game by arresting and paraded 68 suspects involved in terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, burglary, theft, possession fire arms, hard drugs, Indian hemp, possession of counterfeit currency, extortion, fraud and other criminalities. This is in addition to the arrest of 84 suspects for the same offence last month.
The police commissioner, Mohammed Aliyu, said this is in line with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu Abubakar.
Aliyu said at a press briefing recently that one Malam Ibrahim, a notorious member of the Boko Haram sect who participated in several, attacks on security locations in Nigeria and Cameroun Republic was arrested by the police at Dikwa low-cost Maiduguri.
He added that the suspect, during investigation, confessed to have followed his members in many attacks on security locations and carted away their weapons.
The suspect claimed to have escaped from one of their camps in Cameroun after allegedly denouncing membership of the sect.
Similarly, one Umar Abatcha who is also a notorious member of the Boko Haram sect who later escaped to Lagos and subsequently returned to Maiduguri was arrested at Bulabulin by the police on sighting him.
The suspect on interrogation confessed membership and claimed that he returned to Maiduguri thinking that nobody would recognise him again.
The police boss further disclosed that on June 13 and 19, 2019 respectively, one notorious criminal was arrested by SARS operatives while going to the bush to buy cattle from the Boko Haram sect who stole them from innocent members of the public. One female cow and two calves bought from the Boko Haram members were recovered from them.
It was gathered that following intensified investigation between June 9/ and 13, 2019 the following persons were arrested at Shani General Area by a combined teams of policemen from SARS and divisional headquarters, Shani for terrorising innocent members of the public at the Shani axis. They are, Adamu Saidu, Adamu Isa, Ka’ana Buba, Hiba Adamu, Dago Grema, Ngura Saidu,Bello Jungudo, Bayo Adam and Ilu Hassan
According to him, arrest was also made of notorious armed robbery suspects by SARS on June 9 of Musa Bello and Mustapha Shettima both of Maiduguri metropolis who have severally robbed many people in the metropolis and evaded arrest. They were however, arrested by SARS after attempting to rob one Mohammed Ibrahim of Shuwari II Maiduguri of his handset while armed with dangerous weapons.
Similarly, men of SARS on June 6 also arrested one Muhammadu Mustapha, Alhaji Salisu Sani and Adam Mohammed all of Maiduguri after robbing one Alhaji Bukar Mallum of Gomari old Airport Maiduguri of 22 (50kg) bags of rice valued at N270, 000. 00k at railway crossing Baga road Maiduguri.
Another two, Bukar Awami and Fanne Goni were arrested with an axe and sheath of knife when it was reported that on May 25 a misunderstanding ensued between the two suspects and one Modu Tijani Mustapha and his wife, Yana Alhaji Abatcha at Bakassi IDP Camp Maiduguri, the suspect used a sharp knife and stabbed the deceased to dead.
CP Aliyu said the CID also arraigned one Yohanna Ijai and two others at large with 2 fabricated AK-47 rifles with 8 live cartridges when on June 8 a case of being in-possession of fire arms was transferred from divisional police headquarters to the department.
Also, on June 3, one Yohanna Ijai, a member of vigilante group attached to Dille village in Askira UBA LGA was on his way to the village from Taban village in Askira with two AK-47 locally-made rifle with eight live cartridges which was packed inside a sack being conveyed on motorcycle. In the process of repairing the motorcycle, he was intercepted by some police men on duty who conducted a search on him and found the firearms, saying the case is presently under investigation.
A notorious gangster was further arrested by SARS on May 30 as one Fatima Shuaibu of 303 Housing Estates and staff of International Office for Migration, Maiduguri reported to the command about a theft in her car. According to her, she parked her vehicle containing the sum of (N5, 000, 000) at a shopping mall at Gidan Madara and went into one of the shops for transaction. However, on coming out, she discovered that her vehicle was broken into and the money was carted away by unknown persons. The CP said based on tip-off, SARS operatives swung into action and arrested one Peter Alexandra Ekechi, Uka Emmanuel Emeka and Amadi Jede Ukasoanye all of Umuaka Njagba LGA of Imo state at a hotel in Maiduguri and part of the stolen money in the sum of N3, 750, 000 was recovered from them. Their two vehicles one light green colour Highlander Jeep reg. No. Abuja RSH 392 SE and a golden sienna vehicle reg. No. GWA 782 TE used during the crime were also recovered. The suspects, he said, confessed to the commission of the dastardly act. They also confessed to have committed uncountable similar offences in many states of Nigeria in which they were prosecuted and convicted to various jail terms. They claimed to have been into this act from childhood.
He said between 2/6/2019 and 10/6/2019, one Mustapha Jamda and Ibrahim Buba both of low-cost, Maiduguri, who played a fast one on one Dr Chibuike Godwin, a lecturer in the University of Maiduguri by duping him of N720, 000 were arrested by SARS operatives.
The duo, he said, deceived the victim into believing that they were contracted by World Food Programme (WFP) to make some supply of equipment in Yobe and Maiduguri.
They induced and collected the above amount and in turn went and lodged at Barwee Hotel with their girlfriends until all the money was lavished. Police investigation revealed that the suspects were never given any contract by any organisation but just defrauded the victim.
While three suspects namely, Buba Ali Garga, Adamu Bukar and Zubairu Ibrahim, he said, were arrested by SARS for theft and possession of a pair of military uniform and 20 pieces of SIM cards of different networks and a bunch of keys, on May 18, the first suspect, Garga deceived one Umar Jibir and collected his boxer Bajaj motorcycle that he wanted to go and collect shoe from a nearby shoe maker only to escape with the motorcycle.
Later, he was arrested at Kurkude village in Bayo LGA while heading to Gombe state. On searching him, the above listed items were found on him but he could not give satisfactory account of them.
