IN an onslaught against criminal elements in the country, The Nigeria Police Force said it has made appreciable progress with notable breakthroughs in the past two months.
It said that attackers of Apostle Suleiman are among 1,412 suspects nabbed for various violent crimes.
The list also includes 548 suspects for Armed Robbery, 242 suspects for kidnapping, 365 for murder or homicide, and 237 arrested for rape and or defilement of minors.
According to the Police, 350 illicit firearms and 4,055 ammunition of various calibres were also recovered across the country within the period under review.
It said 113 kidnapped victims were also rescued unhurt and reunited with their families.
Prominent amongst these breakthroughs was the arrest of one Yusuf Ismael Isah, aged 32, a plumber from Okene, Kogi State, by gallant operatives of the Force. According to investigations, he was part of the 7-man gang that launched a fatal attack on the convoy of Apostle Johnson Suleiman, the Founder of Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Auchi, on October 21, 2022, along Benin – Auchi road, wherein six (6) people, including three police officers, were gruesomely murdered.
Intelligence revealed that the 7-man syndicate had been actively involved in kidnapping operations within Edo State and its environs. It carried out about 4 kidnapping operations between 2021 and 2023 before the Police eventually busted the gang.
Exhibits recovered from the suspect upon his arrest in Ondo State include 5 AK47 Rifles, 2 K2 Assault Rifles, 180 Rounds of Live Ammunition, 4 suspected locally made IEDs, 1 pistol, and 4 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
Similarly, five suspects were apprehended in Abuja for conspiracy and kidnapping.
The suspects – Emu Larry Chidiebere’ male, 34, Samuel Balogun’ male, 22; Williams Banjo ‘male, 28, Babatunde Femi’ male’ 30, and Nneka Opara ‘female’ 32, were arrested for kidnapping a foreign national and obtaining a ransom of $2000 from his relatives.
The suspects held the victim hostage in an apartment from May 30, 2023, to June 2, 2023. The suspects took pictures of the victim and forwarded the pictures and threat messages to the victim’s girlfriend in Zurich, who eventually sent them 2000 dollars via Western Union on June 1, 2023.
Additionally, the Police have sustained a continuous assault on the camps of some non-state actors in the South-East enforcing an illegal sit-at-home order, particularly in Enugu, Imo, and Ebonyi States.
In Enugu, four suspects were neutralized following a gun duel with operatives of the Force on Friday, July 7, 2023, while 1 AK47 with 19 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and 2 Molotov cocktails were recovered.
In Ebonyi state, 17 suspects were arrested following a raid on the hideout of secessionist agitators on the 5th and 6th of July, 2023, while 1 locally made revolver, 2 2 vehicle number plates and 3 live ammunition were recovered.
Similarly, in Imo, police operatives arrested 26 hoodlums following the murder of a young man in their rampage and successfully recovered 5 firearms, 66 live ammunition and several other exhibits.
According to the statement, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has reiterated the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to continually ensure the safety and security of all and sundry while emphasizing that his office will leave no stone unturned in the effort to suppress and decimate criminality and the heinous activities of non-state actors who cause pain, hardship, and sorrows to innocent, law-abiding members of the Nigerian society.
