Nigeria Police operatives, attached to Tafa Division of Niger State Command, have intercepted a Volkswagen vehicle with Registration number LkJ 739 BJ, along Kaduna/Abuja Highway, and arrested its nine occupants suspected to be criminally minded.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Niger State Command, DSP Wasiu Abidoun, who disclosed this in a press release issued and obtained by Newsline, said that the vehicle was intercepted based on an intelligence report received, that the vehicle body was found to have been riddled with bullet impacts, and the occupants, numbering nine men, suspected to be criminals, were arrested.
The suspects, according to DSP Abidoun, were Mohammed Sani, Hakimi Abdullahi, Aminu Bello, Buhari Abdullah I, Tasiu Abdullahi, Kabiru Abdullahi, Bello Awual, Kabiru Abubakar, Abdullahi Dabo, and Babangida Ibrahim.
The preliminary investigation, according to the police spokesperson, however revealed that the arrested suspects specialised in targeting and monitoring faulty loaded trucks along Abuja/Kaduna Road, Keffi/Jos Road, Nassarawa/Akwanga Road, and Suleja/Minna Road.
The syndicate, DSP Wasiu Abidoun said, was discovered to have been engaged in, attacking, and breaking into trucks and containers while looting items and properties contained therein.
During interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime and clarified that they have a warehouse at Akwanga, where they keep the looted items while they sell them in Kano.
They later attempted to bribe the DPO in charge of Tafa Division to terminate the case with an offer of Five hundred thousand naira (N500,000), adding that all the suspects were transferred to SCID Minna for further investigation.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, CP Ogundele Joshua Ayodeji, appreciated all Nigerlites and assured members of the public that the police will continue to live up to their responsibility by fighting against all forms of crime and criminalities to make the state crime-free.
Niger State Governor, Hon. Mohammed Umaru Bago, together with some eminent Nigerians, yesterday attended the wedding fatiha of Muawiyya Babangida Aliyu, the son of the former governor of the state, Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu.
Muawiyya married Zainab Shehu, and the ceremony, which took place at Al-Noor Mosque in Abuja, was conducted by Professor Isah Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the immediate past Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
He enjoined the couple to maintain a healthy marriage in accordance with the teachings of the Quran and Hadith.
In a statement made available to journalists by his Chief Press Secretary, Mal. Bologi Ibrahim, Governor Umaru Bago encouraged the new couple to be patient in their marriage life.
He also prayed that God would bless their union and make it successful.
The father of the groom, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, advised the couple not to allow any third party into their union.
The immediate past governor of Niger State and senator representing Niger North, Sen. Abubakar Sani Bello, also wished the couple "a happy married life and healthy children".
Other dignitaries at the event were former state governors, former ministers, the lawmaker representing Niger East, Sen. Mohammed Sani Musa, former deputy governors of Niger State, Niger State government officials, APC stalwarts, and traditional rulers, among others.
