The Police in Zamfara State on Saturday disclosed the foiling of terrorist attacks on two communities in Zurmi and Shinkafi Local Government Areas of the state. The police also arrested nine bandits in the operation.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Zamfara State Command, Mohammed Shehu, in a statement while the Command paraded the arrested bandit and their collaborators on Saturday in Gusau, indicated that the police arrested three suspected bandits informants who collaborate with bandits to impose levies on some communities and divulge information on operational activities of security agencies to the terrorists.
The command also arrested six suspected bandit collaborators who specialise in supplying hard drugs, including Indian hemp, to terrorists operating in the state.
The police identified the arrested informants as Abubakar Idaho (75), Kwarya Tsugunne village in Maru LGA, and Almustapha Dahiru (69) of Yanbuki village in Zurmi LGA, both male.
The police arrested the informants in connection with partnering with bandits to impose levies on Kwarya Tsugunne and Yanbuki villages in Maru and Zurmi Local governments areas.
According to the police, the third suspect, Mohammed Jibrin, of Kekun Waje village in Bungudu LGA, was arrested for being informant to bandits by divulging information about the operational activities of security agencies and vigilante at Kekun Waje village in Bungudu LGA.
The PPRO narrated that the police tactical operatives while on confidence building patrol along Zurmi and Shinkafi LGAs, received a distress call about terrorists plan to attack some villages of the two LGAs.
The PPRO said that police operatives mobilised to the locations and engaged the terrorists in gun battle that lasted for hours.
“Luckily enough, the bandits were repelled by the superior fire power of the police operatives, forcing them to retreat back to the forest with possible gun shot wounds. Two AK47 rifles and 104 rounds of live ammunition belonging to the bandits were recovered at the scene.
“The suspects during interrogation confessed to the Police that, on several occasions, they imposed levies on villagers that run into millions and delivered same to bandits while getting their percentage.
“They further confessed that, recently they imposed and collected levy of one million, two hundred thousand naira from Kwarya Tsugunne village,” the PPRO declared.
The police said that the six suspects were arrested for supplying hard drugs, while they were transporting a large quantity of “dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp” from Lagos State to Shinkafi.
The PPRO narrated: “On 7th December, 2022 at about 1200 hours, Police Tactical operatives acted on intelligence information that led to the arrest of the suspects. The suspects were arrested while transporting a large quantity of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp all the way from Lagos to Shinkafi in Zamfara State.
“In the course of investigation, the suspects confessed to several supply of hard drugs (sic) and other substances to the bandits operating at Shinkafi and Zurmi axis. Discreet investigation is ongoing.”
Shehu further said that police tactical operatives, conducting stop-and-search operations, acted on credible information, intercepted and arrested other suspects who were also transporting a large quantity of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp to Kaura Namoda LGA of Zamfara State.According to the PPRO, “the four suspects were arrested in an 18-seater Toyota vehicle conveying a large quantity of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp from Lagos and to be delivered to Kaura Namoda in Zamfara state.
“In the course of interrogation, the suspects confessed that the consignment was meant for bandits operating in a forest under Shinkafi LGA of Zamfara State.”