…..Arrest 1,412 suspects, recover 350 arms, 4,055 ammunition nationwide in 2 months
……Rescues 113 Kidnap Victims Unhurt
The Police have arrested a 32-year-old man identified as Yusuf Isah in connection with the attack on the senior pastor and General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleman.
The police paraded Yusuf Isah, on Thursday for the failed assassination bid on the cleric last year.
On October 21, a group of armed men ambushed the convoy of Suleiman along the Auchi area of Edo State. Six people including three police officers were killed.
Speaking to the press while parading the suspect on Thursday 13th July 2023, the Force PRO, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi disclosed that Isah was the suspect who first pulled the trigger on the convoy of the cleric.
He said, “Operatives of the FIB on the trail of the assailants apprehended this suspect, Yusuf Isah, a native of Okene, Kogi State, at Agabara Oluwatobi Phase 2, A plumber, and recovered five AK-47, two K2 Assault Rifles, 180 Live Ammunition, and four suspected locally made IEDs, one pistol, four rounds of 9mm ammunition found in his apartment.
“Investigation revealed that the suspect was part of the seven-man gang responsible for the attack on the convoy of the Apostle and some of the rifles found in his possession were riffles snatched from the three police officers that were killed during the October 21, 2022 attack.
The gang, according to the police specializes in kidnapping for ransom and had carried out about four kidnapping operations between 2021 and 2023, before they were busted by the Police. Two members of the seven-man gang were said to have been gunned down in separate encounters with the Police.
“The suspect further confessed the plan of the gang on October 21, 2022, was to forcefully kidnap the Apostle and collect a huge ransom. They had trailed him for days and planted an informant on Benin – Auchi express road to feed them updates on his itinerary on the day of the attack.
In another development, the police paraded the following for conspiracy/kidnapping and armed robbery; Emu Larry Chidiebere, 34yrs from Agbor, Delta State, married with kids, an agent in gold business; Samuel Balogun, 22yrs, Kabba, Kogi State, Forex trader / Fashion designer; Willams Banjo, 28yrs, Epe, Lagos State, Beautician; Babatunde Femi, 30yrs, Oke-Ogun, Ogun State, a hairstylist married with 1 child and Nneka Opara, 32yrs from Imo.
According to Adejobi, the principal suspect Emu Larry lured a Swiss national to Nigeria posing as an agent who facilitates Gold transactions in Nigeria. Upon the arrival of the victim on May 30, 2023, the prime suspect alongside Nneka Opara and Samuel Balogun received him at the airport and conveyed him to a serviced apartment where they lodged him.
“Subsequently, Emu procured Babatunde Femi and Williams Banjo who tied down the victim and seized his iPhone while compelling him to contact his relatives in Zurich to send them the sum of 2000 dollars and threatening to harvest his kidney and sell if their demands are not met. The suspects held the victim hostage in the apartment from May 30, 2023, to June 2, 2023.
“The suspects took pictures of the victim and forwarded the pictures and threat messages to the girlfriend of the victim in Zurich, who eventually sent them the sum of 2000 dollars via Western Union on June 1, 2023. Upon receipt of the report, operatives of FIB-IRT were deployed to the case and successfully apprehended the suspects.
exhibits recovered from them include; 1 locally made single barrel gun; 1 iPhone 13 Promax with air pods; 5 different types of company stamps; 1 stamp seal; an Envelope containing documents and 5 bricks of fake Gold.
Additionally, the Police have sustained a continuous assault on the camps of some non-state actors in the South-East enforcing an illegal sit-at-home order, particularly in Enugu, Imo, and Ebonyi States. In Enugu, 4 suspects were neutralized following a gun duel with operatives of the Force on Friday 7th July, 2023 while 1 AK47 with 19 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, and 2 Molotov cocktails were recovered. In Ebonyi, 17 suspects were arrested following a raid on the hideout of secessionist agitators on the 5th and 6th of July, 2023, while 1 locally made revolver, 2 vehicle number plates, and 3 live ammunition were recovered. Similarly, in Imo, police operatives arrested 26 hoodlums following the murder of a young man in their rampage, and successfully recovered 5 firearms, 66 live ammunition, and several other exhibits.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun has reiterated the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to continually ensure the safety and security of all and sundry while emphasizing that his administration will leave no stone unturned in the effort to suppress and decimate criminality and the heinous activities of non-state actors who cause pain, hardship, and sorrows to innocent law-abiding members of the Nigerian society.
