Eight suspected armed robbers, including a rusticated operative of the Nigerian Army, have been arrested in Enugu over alleged armed robbery and financial fraud.
According to the Enugu State Police Command, the suspects specialized in interstate armed robbery and financial fraud.
A release by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, said their arrest followed coordinated operations involving the Emene Division, Crack and Octopus Tactical Squads, alongside the neighbourhood watch group, adding that items recovered from them were firearms, ammunition, cash, and other stolen items.
Ndukwe gave the names of those arrest as Ismaila Isah (23), Sadik Ahmed (a dismissed soldier, 28), Abbas Usman (33), Mubarak Garba (24), Abubakar Haruna (23), Abubakar Sani (32), Obiri Chukwuebuka (22), and Bright Omeniru (22).
He added that two locally-made pistols loaded with a live and expended cartridge and a cash sum of three hundred thousand, four hundred and fifty naira (₦300,450.00) were recovered.
“Further recovered are ten laptops, land documents, ten mobile phones, assorted jewellery and watches, one MP3 player, one headphone, four power banks, two SIM cards, footwear, and bags,” he said.
He said, “The operation commenced on November 12, 2024, around 3:30am when operatives from the Emene Division, supported by neighbourhood watch members, responded to a distress call regarding an armed robbery at an estate in Emene.
“During the operation, Ismaila Isah was apprehended with one locally made pistol, the said ₦300,450.00, and some stolen items, while others escaped.”
He said Ismaila was later transferred to the Crack Tactical Squad for further investigation, noting that his confessional statements and subsequent discreet investigations led to the arrest of Sadik Ahmed, Abbas Usman, Mubarak Garba, Abubakar Haruna, and Abubakar Sani at their hideouts in New Garriki, Awkunanaw, Enugu. Another locally made pistol and additional stolen items were recovered.
According to him, operatives from the Octopus Tactical Squad utilised an intelligence report and arrested Obiri Chukwuebuka and Bright Omeniru in Owerri, Imo State, adding that during interrogations, the suspects admitted to using phones stolen by the syndicate to fraudulently withdraw funds from victims’ bank accounts. He said two SIM cards from different networks were also recovered.
Quoting him, “Investigations reveal that the suspects confessed to committing multiple armed robberies within the Enugu metropolis and using the victims’ mobile phones’ SIM cards to also commit acts of fraud. They further confessed to moving and selling the stolen proceeds in Imo and other states.
“Sadik Ahmed, the dismissed soldier, admitted to exploiting his background as a former security agent to bypass checkpoints during the interstate shipment of the stolen items.”
The suspects will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigations, said the PPRO.
Dismissed Soldier, 7 Others Arrested For Alleged Armed Robbery, Fraud In Enugu is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
