Police arrest suspected bandit, recover AK-47 rifle in Kaduna

The Kaduna police command says it has arrested a suspected bandit and recovered an AK-47 rifle in Mariri village, Saminaka, Lere LGA of the state.

Mohammed Jalige, police spokesperson of the command, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Saturday.

Jalige said the command received credible intelligence on the suspected movement of illicit arms around the community. 

According to him, Yekini Ayoku, the commissioner of police in Kaduna, ordered an immediate security cordon of the area, which yielded positive results with the arrest of a suspected armed bandit on Thursday, at about 6 pm. 

He said the tactical execution of the operation was in line with the directive of intelligence-led police operation by Usman Alkali Baba, inspector-general of police (IGP), as well as a community policing strategy geared toward nipping crimes in the bud.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect aged 25 hailed from the same Mariri village,” Ayoku said. 

Kaduna is one of the states most affected by banditry in Nigeria — with hundreds of people killed or kidnapped by bandits in recent years.

In September 2021, gunmen killed Abubakar Abdullahi, chairman of the Lere LGA chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Kaduna.

Last month, gunmen reportedly killed 32 people in an attack on four communities in Kajuru LGA of Kaduna state.

Three persons were confirmed dead on June 19, following an attack by gunmen on two churches in Kaduna state.

On June 29, bandits also killed a commander of the civilian joint task force (JTF) following an attack on the Sabon Gero area of the millennium city, Kaduna metropolis.