Men of the Enugu state police command have arrested a dismissed soldier and seven others for allegedly engaging in armed robbery and financial fraud in the state.
The state police public relations officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, December 7.
According to Ndukwe, the suspects are members of an interstate criminal syndicate that specialize in armed robbery and financial fraud. He gave the names of the arrested suspects as Ismaila Isah, 23, Abbas Usman, 33, Mubarak Garba, 24, Sadik Ahmed who is the dismissed soldier, Abubakar Haruna, 32, Chukwuebuka Obiri, 22, and Bright Omeniru, 22.
He said the suspects were arrested during “coordinated operations” carried out by police operatives from Emene Divisional Police Headquarters, Crack, and Octopus Tactical Squads as well as the Neighbourhood Watch Group.
“The operation commenced on November 12, 2024, around 3:30 a.m., when operatives from the Emene Division, supported by the Neighbourhood Watch members, responded to a distress call regarding an armed robbery attack at an estate in Emene,” he said.
The spokesperson said one of the suspects, Mr Isah, was first arrested while others escaped.
He said Mr Isah was arrested while in possession of a locally made pistol and cash sum of N300,450 and some stolen items. He mentioned that Isah was later transferred to the Crack Tactical Squad for further investigation, adding that his subsequent confessional statements resulted in the arrest of the seven other suspects.
He said the seven other suspects were arrested at their hideouts in New Garriki, Awkunanaw, a community in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State.
“During interrogation, they admitted to using phones stolen by the syndicate to fraudulently withdraw funds from victims’ bank accounts” he said
The police spokesperson said the suspects confessed to committing multiple armed robberies within the Enugu metropolis and using the victims’ mobile phones and SIM cards to also commit acts of fraud. He said they further confessed to moving and selling the stolen proceeds in Imo and other states in Nigeria.
“Sadik Ahmed, the dismissed soldier, admitted to exploiting his background as a former security agent to bypass checkpoints during the interstate shipment of the stolen items,” he said.
Items recovered from them include two SIM cards from different networks, firearms, ammunition, cash, and other stolen items.
He said the suspects will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigations.