The police in Nasarawa have arrested three suspects who allegedly masterminded the theft of 97 bags of rice from a businessman in the state’s Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area.
The suspects, who were paraded by the command, attacked a truck of rice loaded with 700 bags of 50kg en route to Abia State.
The Commissioner of Police, Umar Nadada, while parading the 31 suspected criminals who were recently arrested by the painstaking efforts of the police officers in the state for committing various crimes, disclosed on Tuesday that the criminals had made several attempts to escape. Still, the officers persevered through thorough investigation, which led to the arrest of the suspects.
Narrating the timeline of attacks and the taking away of the rice, the police commissioner stated that on 26/07/2024, at about 0330 hrs, the truck driver, after being attacked by the criminals, visited the police area command in Akwanga, explaining that he loaded his truck from Rukubi, Doma LGA of Nasarawa State, en route to Abia State, where a mechanical problem occurred in his vehicle.
Explaining further, the police commissioner noted the driver was upon finding a solution for his broken vehicle. Men numbering about 15 attacked him, tearing the cover of the truck and escaping with a vast number of bags of rice.
He explained that the police swung into action immediately the matter was reported to the command, he noted that the suspects who loaded the stollen bags of rice in their car were unfortunate when their vehicle broke down after a heavy cheese from the Police.
The commissioner identified the suspects as Auwal Abubakar, Danrimi Mohammed, and Habibu Adamu, all males of Masaka, Karu LGA of the state. The suspects were arrested with a Bus with registration number OGUN 419 Xwashat were filled as exhibits.
On other details from the paraded suspects the commissioner explained that suspects were arrested with 1,080 pieces of ammunition, 13 laptops, television and phones, five magazines, four motorcycles, and five firearms, among other items, by the officers in the state.
During the announcement of the suspects the police commissioner explained a court would charge the criminals arrested in the coming days, he further advised all criminals in the state to vacate immediately or be ready to receive chase from the police officers and other security agencies.
One of the suspects, Habibu Adamu, denied any involvement in stealing the rice. He explained that the products were only given to them to deliver as transporters. He noted that his arrest with the other two suspects was unjust as he was only doing his job.
He explained that they were not aware that the bags of rice had been stolen, and he further appealed to the police to release them as they knew nothing about it.
In recent months, the crime rate in Nasarawa has escalated, with businesses and student houses being the major targets for criminals.
