Operatives attached to the Inspector
General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris’s Special Intelligence and Response Team
(IRT), have arrested some men believed to have been terrorizing Suleja, Niger
State.
Before the men were taken to the
police station, one of them shot a police sergeant, while another escaped with
police van.
The suspects carried out these
daring acts, while the IRT operatives were occupied chasing after other fleeing
suspected robbers. At least, two suspects, among the gang members, are
presently in police custody. Recovered from them are rifles and pistols.
The IRT men were led by an Assistant
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abba Kyari. The operatives have since launched a
manhunt for the fleeing suspects.
A police source said: “The
operatives got a tip-off about the gang members and went after them. One of the
gang leaders, known as Samloko was arrested. He assisted police in catching Alhaji
Nasiru Yayaha. The following day, police made efforts to arrest other
gang members, but the operatives were ambushed. A police sergeant sustained
bullet wound, while Samloko escaped. The police succeeded in arresting Sheidu
Musari, another member of the gang.”
Nasiru Yayaha, 43, who said he
is married with three children, graduated from Usman Danfodio University
Sokoto. He described himself as an Information Technology expert, adding that
he lost his job in November 2016. He
explained that it was after he lost his job, that he met Samloko.
Yayaha said: “Samloko and I came
from the same village in Kogi State. I owned a Sienna car; Samloko approached
me one day, saying that he wanted to make use of my car. I gave it to him.
I didn’t ask him why or what he wanted to do with it. He borrowed the car a
second time. He later told me that he used it for robbery. He came again the
third time, to borrow it, but I refused. I told him that I would have to go
with him.”
Yayaha said that after he insisted
that he would go on the operation with Samloko, the latter told him that he was
going to rob a filling station located at Suleja.
Yayaha also insisted that he would
drive the car himself. Samloko humoured him. Yayaha said that they were four
men that embarked on the operation that fateful day.
Aside from him and Samloko, others
as Latee and Aliyu Adoza.
He said: “We entered a filling
station and robbed it. I didn’t know how much was robbed from that
station, but I was given N80, 000. In March this year, Samloko approached
me again, begging me to drive them to Coca Cola mini depot along Kaduna Road.
We robbed the place and I was given N30, 000.”
He also recalled that Samloko came
to him one Saturday, begging to make use of the car to hide some of his guns.
Yayaha recollected: “Samloko brought
the guns to my house and hid them in my car. I reside at the APC quarters in
Suleja, while Samloko lives along Church Road. When his wife put to bed, the
baby died, I went to pay him condolence visit.”
Yayaha said he wasn’t comfortable
driving his car, knowing that Samloko’s guns were concealed inside. Since
Samloko was still in mourning, Yayaha said he didn’t want to disturb him, so he
called the gang’s second in command, Latee.
His words: “I called Latee; his next
in command, to come and collect the guns. I also called Musari and Aliyu
to follow me to take the guns to Latee. I met Latee at NNPC Filling station, at
Dede area of Abuja. I handed over all the guns to him. That same day, around 12:
am, I saw policemen in my house. The first question they asked me was,
‘where are the guns?’ I wasn’t given a chance to explain myself. They searched
my house and my car. The search was done in the presence of my wife and
children. I was taken away; outside my gate, I saw Samloko in handcuffs.
I realised he was the person that led policemen to my house. The
following day, I told policemen that I have handed Samloko’s rifles
to Latee and the pistols to Aliyu. We decided to go after Aliyu
first because I knew he was an easy target. I called him and he asked me to meet
him at a filling station. When we got there, he directed me to go to a UBA
bank. But before we got there, I got a call from Musari. He asked me if I was coming
to see them, I said yes. When Musari came to meet me by the bank, he was
arrested by the police. He attempted to escape and the policemen went after
him. In the process, Aliyu, who was monitoring my movement, shot at the
policemen and injured one of them. The policemen responded and shot
Musari, but Aliyu escaped. When they came back to their vehicle,
they also discovered that Samloko has run away with the police vehicle.”
Musari, 28,
from Kogi State, described himself as a fashion designer. He said he has a shop
at Kwankwashe Suleja Road.
He explained
that he joined the robbery gang in December 2016. He said that his customer,
Samloko, initiated him into robbery.
He said:
“I have been making Samloko’s clothes and those of his wife for years. He used
to give me money whenever I was broke. He also used to give me food. In
December last year, I needed money to buy a sewing machine for creating button
holes on shirts. I approached him for money; he told me to follow him to a
robbery operation.”
Musari
continued his narration: “We were four that went for that operation. Samloko
used his vehicle to block a woman, while Latee and Aliyu snatched her handbag.
I didn’t know how much was in the handbag, but I was given N20, 000.
After I joined the gang, I started sewing clothes for every member of the gang,
including their wives and children. Aliyu later advised Samloko to stop taking
me along on operations; he said if perchance I was arrested, I would lead
police to every member’s house. They stopped taking me out; but they usually give
me money. Last week, I heard that Samloko has been arrested. Alhaji told
me that Samloko gave him guns to keep. He said he didn’t want the police to
find the guns in his house.”
No comments:
Post a Comment