Police arrest 52 suspected thugs for electoral violence

THE Kogi State Police Command on Wednesday said it arrested no fewer than 52 suspected political thugs responsible for various electoral violence in the State in the just concluded election.

The Commissioner of Police in the State, Hakeem Busari, who paraded the suspects, said they were apprehended in their various hideouts and locations across the State.

He added that the people had confessed to their various criminal roles in the commission of the crimes.

Busari said to ensure violence-free elections and to clamp down on political thugs, the command adopted comprehensive crime prevention and directed strategies and operational measures which included intensive raids of identified criminal hideouts, black spots and flashpoints across the State.

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According to him, the operatives attached to the Command, working on actionable intelligence and in compliance with Inspector General of Police’s directives to clamp down on political thugs determined to disrupt general elections in Kogi State have arrested the gang responsible for various electoral violence as well as the kidnapping of some innocent citizens across the State.

“They admitted to have participated in political thuggery in the just concluded 2019 general elections and several kidnapping, armed robberies and attack on innocent travellers on the major highways across the State.

“These achievements were due to the proactive strategies rooted in intelligence-led policing, and robust interaction with the various strata of our communities, particularly in the area of information gathering, since it has become obvious that security is an all stakeholders’ affairs,” he said.

Apart from the arrest, the command also recovered 22 different types of guns ranging from AK 47, locally made pistol, single barrel gun, locally made double barrel gun, dane gun, pump action gun, locally made revolver, cut to size double barrel pistol and number of AK 47 live ammunition.

The command also recovered cutlass, expanded cartridge, one green Vento salon car and cell phones.