Police arrest suspect ‘supplying’ army uniform to bandits in Kaduna

The Kaduna police command says its operatives have killed two kidnappers and arrested a suspect for supplying army uniform to bandits.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mansir Hassan, the spokesperson of the command, said the operatives arrested the suspect during a stop-and-search operation on the Birnin Gwari-Kaduna highway.

Hassan said the personnel also arrested two car thieves and recovered one locally made pistol with a cartridge, two vehicles, and army camouflage material from the suspect.

“On August 25th, 2024, around 1:20pm, during a routine patrol and stop-and-search operation on the Birnin Gwari-Kaduna highway, police officers stopped a vehicle and found a black leather bag containing 15 pieces of unsewn military camouflage material,” the statement reads.

“The suspect admitted that he was to deliver the materials to someone in Udawa village, who would then deliver them to armed bandits in the Chukuba area under Shiroro LGA of Niger state, for their operations.

“The suspect is currently cooperating with the police to arrest other accomplices at large.

“On August 24, 2024, while on routine divisional patrol at about 1200 hrs, the police patrol team of Makarfi LGA encountered a group of armed robbers who had blocked the road using logs of wood and stones.

“The superior firepower of the police patrol team forced the robbers to flee into the surrounding bushes.

“During the exchange, one of the robbers was neutralised and his locally made pistol and one cartridge were recovered.

“The police are combing the surrounding bushes in an ongoing operation to apprehend the remaining suspects.”

The police spokesperson noted that the operatives also recovered a blue-black Toyota belonging to one Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Mumin after he reported it stolen.

He said the police arrested the suspects—Abdul Mukhtar and his accomplice, a resident of Zoo Road in Kano—after the stolen car was traced and found in the Hayin Dan Mani area of the state.

Hassan added that further investigations are ongoing to determine the full extent of the suspects’ activities and identify other accomplices.