Police arrest pupil for ‘threatening schoolmates with gun’ in Akwa Ibom

The police in Akwa Ibom have arrested a 13-year-old pupil for allegedly threatening his schoolmates with a pistol at St. Paul Primary School Ikot Ibiok, in Eket LGA.

Baba Azare, police commissioner in Akwa Ibom, announced the arrest during a press briefing in Uyo, the state capital, on Wednesday.

Azare said the operatives of the command received credible information on January 30, at about 8am, that the boy was going about with a pistol in the school, threatening to fire at his fellow pupils.

“The operatives of the command immediately swung into action, arrested the suspect, and recovered a locally made pistol, the police commissioner said.

“On interrogation, the suspect confessed that he had been with the said gun since November 2024 and that he got it from a ward in his father’s bedroom.”

The commissioner said the father of the suspect had been arrested, adding that an investigation had commenced on the matter.

Azare also said the command arrested two young girls, who conspired and stole a child in Obong Itam, Itu LGA, in June 2024 and sold their victim for N200,000 to someone in Cross River.

He said the suspects confessed to the crime, adding that they used the proceeds to purchase a refrigerator, a television, and a fan.

He said the items had been recovered from them, and an investigation is ongoing to arrest the buyer of the child.

Azare said in another development, two young girls reported a woman who attempted trafficking them to some men in Cross River for baby-making.

He said based on the complaint on February 1, operatives of the command swung into action and arrested “one Gift Essien Tommy (f) and one Peace Ekanem (f)”.