The Niger State Police Command has arrested 17 restive youths after the death of one Ashiru Tofa of the Limawa area of Minna, the state capital.
The command, in a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Wasiu Abiodun in Minna, said the suspects were arrested over the death of one of the youths stabbed during their clash.
It stated, “some miscreants of Ogbomosho street, Angwan-Daji and Limawa area of Minna, on 05 of November, 2022 engaged themselves in a fight with dangerous weapons, and as a result, one Ashiru Tofa of Limawa area was stabbed to death.”
The command revealed that following the development, police operatives attached to ‘A’ Division Minna swung to action and arrested a notorious handset snatcher/thug, 22-year-old Umar Aminu, a.k.a Ogobin of Limawa, that led to the arrest of the 17 suspects involved in the crisis.
The statement stated that Ogobin assisted the police in identifying the 17 other miscreants during a house-to-house raid in the Minna metropolis.
The suspects include Naziru Rabiu (a.k.a Bush) 20yrs, Musa Suleiman 23yrs, Nuhu Saidu 19yrs, Bashir Mohammed 17yrs, Mohammed Gadafi 19yrs, Salim Umar 24yrs, Abdullahi Abubakar 19yrs, Musa Abubakar 20yrs of Limawa, Hassan Mohammed 19yrs, Umar Suleiman 19yrs, Musa Saidu 19yrs, Abdullahi Musa 19yrs and Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed 17yrs all of the Limawa area.
Others are Musa Suleiman 20yrs, Awwal Abubakar 17yrs, Ibrahim Yunusa 17yrs of Airport road; and Bala Bala 17yrs of Makera area.
The police spokesman explained that while the suspects would be arraigned in court, efforts are ongoing to apprehend other miscreants.
According to him, “all suspects will be arraigned in court for diligent prosecution, as effort and further investigation is ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the miscreants towards ensuring a lasting peaceful environment in Minna metropolis”.
Exhibits recovered from the suspects include one sickle, three scissors, two shisha pots and three pipes, seven cutlasses, one garrote, one saw, a box containing chisels and spanners, 21 sticks, a packet of cigarettes, two polythene bags containing suspected Indian hemp, a broken bottle and two sharp horns.
Against this backdrop, Abiodun revealed that the state Commissioner of Police, Ogundele J. Ayodeji, directed Area Commanders/DPOs in the metropolis to actively embark on constant visibility patrols in and around identified areas where the fights take place.
He added, “the CP has equally been leading police patrol teams on confidence patrols around Limawa, Angwan-Daji, Ogbomosho, Makera, and Lagos street.”
