The Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, says no fewer than 29,000 suspects were arrested for offences ranging from kidnapping, rape, murder, gun-running, and cultism among others across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in one year.
Adejobi disclosed this in a signed statement obtained by our correspondence on Thursday.
The force spokesperson noted that the arrests were part of efforts of the police to ensure the safety and security of Nigerians.
Giving a breakdown of the arrests, Adejobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, noted that 4,826 suspects were arrested for armed robbery, 3,078 suspects for kidnapping and 2,479 suspects were arrested for sexual offences.
He added that 1,243 suspects were nabbed for unlawful possession of firearms, 3,523 suspects were arrested for cultism, 3,381 suspects for murder/homicide, and 13,402 suspects were arrested for other offences.
Adejobi said, “In the past year, the police have successfully apprehended 4,826 armed robbery suspects; 3,078 kidnapping suspects; 2,479 suspects for rape/sexual crimes; 1,243 suspects for unlawful possession of firearms; 3,523 suspects for cultism; 3,381 suspects for murder/homicide, and 13,402 suspects for other offences.”
The FPRO also disclosed that no fewer than 1,750 kidnap victims were rescued in multiple operations while several caches of illegal items, “including 2,566 firearms, 19,510 rounds of ammunition, and 1,475 vehicles/motorcycles” were recovered nationwide.
Giving an update on the cases the force had prosecuted, Adejobi disclosed that “The NPF has successfully prosecuted 29,152 criminal cases across the country within the year. Out of these, 17,679 cases have been conclusively dispensed with, while 11,576 cases are still undergoing trial.”
He concluded that 51 cases were under appeal at the different appellate courts while 16,200 convictions had been secured with the offenders serving various forms of punishment for their criminal acts
