Police arrest bandits who killed 18 worshipers in Niger mosque

Niger State Government has said that six persons have been arrested in connection with killings of about 18 worshippers in a mosque in Maza-Kuka community, Mashegu Local Government Area of the state recently.

Commissioner for Local Government, Community Development, Chieftaincy Affairs and Internal Security, Mr Emmanuel Umar, stated this while briefing journalists at his office on Wednesday in Minna, the state capital.

The commissioner, however, said that he could not provide the exact number of arrests that have been made so far by the security agencies in the state.

However, when this reporter contacted the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the State Police Command, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, on the matter, he said six persons were arrested in connection with the killings that took place on October 26, 2021, in the community.

He identified the suspects as One Mohammed Lawali, Suleiman Ibrahim, Mohammed Rebo, Bashir Audu, Monsoru Abubakar and Abubakar Hamidu.

He stated further that “investigations by the Police team revealed that the leader of the gang, Mohammed Lawali and some of the gang members are escapees from the Lokoja Correctional Centre in Kogi State.

DSP Abiodun noted that “Bashir Audu was arrested for his criminal role of supplying hard drugs to the gang. Two (2) AK47 rifles, three (3) fully-loaded magazines, while various parcels of hard drugs were recovered from them.”

Meanwhile, the commissioner for local government explained that Governor Abubakar Sani Bello had signed and assented into law the Vigilante Corp Law to boost the activities of the corps and strengthen the internal security architecture in the state.

Umar further disclosed that some communities were being exploited by armed bandits in parts of the state to pay levies before they could be allowed to access their farms, just as he appealed to them resist any exploitation from criminal elements.

He said the state government was working hard to ensure that voluntary security organisations in the state are reorganised by “bringing them into a unified structure based on the signed law and to have optimum performance.”

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