Nigeria: Police Arrest 12 Over Kidnapping, Other Alleged Offences

What the report says

Police in Niger State said they arrested 12 people between 22 and 25 August in a series of separate cases involving kidnapping, armed robbery, culpable homicide, motorcycle theft, thuggery and suspected drug possession. The account was released in a crime bulletin by police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun and reported by Premium Times, as distributed by AllAfrica.

In one case, officers said three men were detained after intelligence linked them to a group operating under the cover of a Yansakai vigilante outfit in Mariga Local Government Area. The police alleged the suspects admitted to forming a kidnapping and robbery syndicate and to killing at least three victims during operations in Mariga. Investigators also said stolen motorcycles were traced to a buyer and that a pump-action rifle was recovered during searches.

The command also reported the arrest of a motorcycle suspect in Kaduna State and the detention of a man in Minna during a Maulud celebration with suspected cannabis, tablets and methamphetamine. In Maitumbi, six suspects were arrested after the killing of a 35-year-old man, while three others were picked up along the Maitumbi-Gwada road with suspected cannabis and weapons. The police said inquiries were continuing and urged residents to share credible information. As stated in the report, all suspects remain presumed innocent until a court decides otherwise.