The Nigeria Police Force has arrested eight suspects in connection with the recent kidnappings and armed robbery along the Kaduna, Abuja and Kano highways.
The suspects are: Lawal Tukur, 40, leader of the gang, Sulaiman Sani, 27, principal suspect, Abubakar Ahmad, 30, Abubakar Adamu, 33, Yahaya Musa, 33, Kabiru Bala, 23, Rufai Tukur, 26 and Shehu Audi, 32.
The force Spokesman, DCP Jimoh Moshood, disclosed this while addressing newsmen over the arrest of the suspects on Tuesday in Abuja.
Moshood said that items recovered from them include: two AK 47 Rifles; three pairs of suspected fake military uniforms; cutlasses motorcycle; four cell phones and a Shedda cloth belonging to some of the victims.
He said that the suspects were responsible for the killing of Prof. Mohammed Othman, Director, National Agricultural Research Extensions and Liaison Services, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
He said that they were also responsible for the Kidnap of Rahinatu Shehu, Aisha Sani and her seven-month old baby at their residence in Mararaba Guga town, Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The force spokesman said that the arrest followed the directive of the I-G for a discreet investigation into the incidents and the arrest of the perpetrators to bring them to justice.
He said that the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the force had engaged the suspects in a shootout for several hours before arresting them and rescuing six victims from them.
He said that all Police Mobile Force (PMF) Units in MOPOL 1 Kaduna, MOPOL 47 Zaria and MOPOL 61 Kafanchan on special duties outside the state, had been ordered by the I-G to return to Kaduna State to beef-up security, especially on Kaduna-Abuja highway and other flashpoints in the area.
“All the suspects confessed to the various criminal roles they played in the commission of the crimes.
“Investigation is in progress and effort is being intensified to arrest other suspects still at large. They will all be arraigned in court on completion of investigation,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the I-G had ordered additional deployment of police personnel to the Abuja-Kaduna and Kaduna-Kano highways to restore safety and normalcy.
In a related development, Moshood said that normalcy had been restored with the additional deployment of personnel after the July 24 attack on Kodi village in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara.
“The Force is already embarking on Police Crime Prevention, Visibility and Confidence Building Patrols. The people in the affected Villages have started returning to their homes, “he said.
He said that 35 suspects had been arrested in connection with the attacks, and that six AK 47 Rifles; 15 locally fabricated guns; 183 AK47 ammunition and seven live cartridges were recovered from them.
“All the suspects have made useful statements to the police investigators and confessed to the killings in the affected villages,” the spokesman said.
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