No fewer than 23 suspected criminals who were said to have been involved in violent protests and rioting were arrested by police operatives in the Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State on Thursday, August 1, 2024.
They were paraded before the newsmen by the Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command, CP Shawulu Ebenezer Danmamman, at the premises of the State Police Command Headquarters in Minna, the state capital, on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.
The suspects were charged with joint acts, criminal trespass, mischief by fire, office breaking, belonging to an assembly of thugs, and theft of government properties.
While briefing the newsmen at the State Police Command Headquarters in Minna, the CP said the suspected protesters and rioters were arrested following the nationwide protest, which commenced on January 8, 2024.
Unfortunately, on the same date, at about 1000 hrs, some miscreants from the Tafa area of Kagarko LGA in Kaduna State and the Sabon-Wuse Tafa and Hayin-Dikko Gurara areas of Niger State were said to have mobilised and stormed the Tafa LGA Secretariat of Niger State located along the Abuja-Kaduna motorway in Sabon-Wuse, Tafa LGA of Niger State.
The police boss said, “The hoodlums vandalised the Council Secretariat and partly set it ablaze. Two cars were also burned, and two others vandalised.”
Speaking further, CP Danmamman stated, “They looted office valuables such as computers, refrigerators, file cabinets, office ceiling fans, office chairs, television sets, and office burglaries. The police and other security agencies responded to the scene, and a total of twenty-three (23) suspects were arrested with different dangerous weapons. Others were dispersed from the scene, and most of the looted items were recovered, mostly from Kagarko in Kaduna State.”
The CP identified the suspects arrested at the scenes as Musa Umar, aged 24, Aliyu Ibrahim, aged 13, Shamsudeen Abdullahi, aged 25, Auwal Sanusi, aged 30, Isiyaku Sanusi, aged 10, Ahmed Muktar, aged 20, and Ashiru Abdullahi, a.k.a. Yellow, aged 10, all of Tafa, Kaduna State.
Others include Justice Danjuma aged 19, Ismaila Aliyu aged 26, Aliyu Betara aged 24, Musa Sani aged 32, Yasir Ibrahim aged 13, Abdullahi Yusuf aged 26, Bakir Hussaini aged 15, Ahmad Jibrin aged 18, Abubakar Salisu aged 18, Yusufu Tijani aged 28, Lawal Abdullahi aged 35, Idris Sani aged 21, and Ibrahim Haruna aged 35, all of Sabon-Wuse, Tafa LGA, Niger State.
Also paraded before the newsmen were Ibrahim Nuhu, aged 18, Abdulrahman Abubakar, aged 18, both of Hayin-Dikko, Gurara LGA, Niger State, and Saifullahi Usman, aged 24, of the Kano/Komboso area of Kano State.
CP Shawulu Ebenezer Danmamman noted that the following items were recovered from the suspects: wooden benches and office chairs, car side mirrors, extension wires, reflective jackets, ceiling fans, table calculators, laptops and generators, ceiling sheets, and office televisions.
He said that the items were returned to the LGA Secretariat, while all the suspects were transferred to SCID Minna for further investigation, and he assured that they would be arraigned in court for prosecution as soon as the ongoing investigation was concluded.
Meanwhile, the CP seized the opportunity to appreciate Nigerlites, residents, youths, and all stakeholders, most especially the Niger State Government, for their support and collaborative effort towards ensuring that peace is sustained in the state.
“I urge all to continue to be law-abiding citizens and cooperate with security agencies to ensure that the remaining three days of the unknown group protest pass peacefully,” the CP declared.
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