The Nigerian police have announced the arrest and dismantling of the notorious gun-running syndicate in different parts of the country. In the operation, which was led by Inspector-General Kayode Egbetokun, the police disclosed 2,700 suspects in connection with different criminal activities in the country.
The Force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement released on X on Tuesday, disclosed that the arrest was a major breakthrough in the fight against the crimes and other violent activities in the country, which has been intensified by the police in the past weeks.
The statement disclosed that the police, under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu, have continued to remain ruthless in their effort to ensure the safety of the citizens through the curbing of heinous crimes across the country.
The statement noted that in the past month, police had recorded the arrest of not less than 295 armed robbery suspects, 186 kidnappers, 271 murder/homicide suspects, and 71 suspects who were found in possession of firearms in the country.
The statement also disclosed that 199 suspects were arrested for other sexual-related offences, while the police arrested 143 suspects for cultism and 1575 suspects for other various crimes in the country. In the operation, the police disclosed that the 185 firearms and a total number of 4087 ammunition of various calibres, 111 vehicles, were recovered while 129 persons who were held hostage by kidnappers were rescued.
The police noted that the operatives of the in northern Nigeria arrested a gunrunning syndicate operating in the Bauchi-Plateau region, according to the police, the arrest was the most recent operation conducted by the police. The police noted that it was a major blow to the terrorists and a win in the fight against crime in the country.
The police disclosed the identity of the suspects as Taimako Mato ‘m’, John Danladi ‘m’, Mohammed Munkail ‘m’, Manasseh William ‘m’ and Muhammadu Haddi ‘m’; in the report, the police noted that the suspects were arrested with 1 PKT Machine Gun, 40 rounds of 37.2mm and 95 rounds of 62mm cartridge ammunition. The police also noted that the leader of the group, Taimako Mato, was a specialized weapon-handling who served as a weapon-handling instructor in the Boko Haram camp. He has reportedly been the individual supplying prohibited weapons and passing them on to the other members of the syndicate to sell to various buyers.
The statement further expressed the police’s commitment to ensuring the safety of the people through adequate protection of lives and property. It was noted that the police have put in place different strategies and tactics to combat various forms of crime in all parts of the country. He called on the citizens to support the police in ensuring the safety of the people and actualizing the goals of the police force, which is led by the IGP.
The police further noted that it will not relent in the pursuit of ensuring crimes and criminalities are brought to its lowest in accordance with the Rule of Law and upholding the highest standards of professionalism in carrying out extant duties of protection of lives and properties.
