NSCDC alerts Borno residents on robbery, kidnapping cases

The Borno Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Monday decried the spate of armed robbery and kidnapping allegedly by some tricycle operators in the state.

The Commandant of the corps in the state, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri.

Abdullahi said intelligence report from his personnel revealed that a gang of certain individuals were hiding under the guise of tricycle operation to perpetrate all sorts of crime.

“We have received about seven complaints from several individuals on how tricycle operators robbed them with dangerous weapons at different locations.

“First was one Abdulkadir (surname withheld) who came to the command on Tuesday and reported that some tricycle operators almost lynched him and took his phones, wallet and money.

“The culprits normally operate around 9:30 p.m. before the curfew time when people are rushing to go back home.

“The last complaint was from one Malam Tukur (surname withheld), a 45-year-old man who closed from his shop and was kidnapped and taken to Bulumkutu but was later released when he paid some money,’’ he said.

The NSCDC boss added that the culprits always operated with tricycles that have no union registration and number plates so that they would not be identified.

“Some of them even use yellow duct-tape to hide their union and plate numbers to avoid any trace.

“It is in line with this ugly trend that the Command deems it fit to call the attention of residents in the state so that they will be security conscious. People must always be on the look-out for tricycles with proper registration.

“We are making efforts towards bringing the criminals to book. However, we need to tell the public to be cautious at all times,” Abdullahi said.