The Niger State Police Command has arrested a total of eighteen thuggery suspects in Minna for various crimes, bordering on robbery, causing hurt, and illicit drug use.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun in a statement stated that the arrests were made in a series of operations carried out by police operatives attached to different divisions in Minna, the state capital..
The first two suspects, Abdulsalam Attahiru and Abdullahi Lawal, were arrested on July 9, 2025, for attacking and causing serious injuries to two persons in Ungwar-Sarkin area of Minna.
The suspects confessed that the attack was a revenge and reprisal for an earlier incident where Ogbomoso youths attacked them.
He also said on July 20, 2025, police operatives arrested ten thuggery suspects in Samande area of Tunga.
According to him, the suspects were found with suspected cannabis and were arrested at different locations, which include UBE Primary School, Samande, and M.I Wushishi Estate areas of Minna.
Suspects include Naziru Yau 22yrs of Samande, Mustapha Abubakar 20yrs of Samande, Hassan Moh’d 19yrs of Samande, Mustapha Yunusa 16yrs of Samande-Auwal Abubakar 15yrs of Nauzo area, and Mustapha Rabiu 22yrs of Samande
Others are Zubairu Abubakar 20yrs of Samande, Moh’d Abdullahi 28yrs of Samande, Umar Ibrahim 25yrs of Samande, and Abdullahi Ndagi 22yrs of Mobile Quarters area, who were also arrested in their various homes based on intelligence and different weapons were recovered.
Abiodun disclosed that on July 22, 2025, three suspects were arrested in connection to an incident of shop breaking and thuggery that occurred on July 9, 2025, at Sabon-Titi, Sabon-Gari areas of Maitumbi.
They are Mohammed Sani 19yrs of Challenge area, Jetro Bala 20yrs of Challenge area and Christian Alheri 21yrs of Maitumbi area who mentioned other members who are still at large, including Ali, Kauta, Tabule and Abdulkarim.
Furthermore, the Command revealed that on July 23, 2025, three more suspects were intercepted on a motorcycle along Stadium road, armed with knives and scissors.
They include Nasiru Kabiru 18yrs of Angwa-Daji, Abubakar Dauda 16yrs of Fadikpe, and -Kabiru Mikailu 18yrs of Maitumbi
The statement added that Nasiru and Kabiru were arrested with knives, while Abubakar was found with scissors who claimed that the weapons are being used for protection at Shakwata illegal mining site.
All the suspects are currently under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Minna, and they will face prosecution once the investigation is complete.
