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The police operatives of the Crack Squad and SIB of the Niger State Police Command have arrested two suspects for acting as kidnapper's informants and arms dealers.
The state command Public Relations Officer (PPR0), DSP Wasiu Abidoun, said in a press release signed by him and obtained by Newsline that the suspects were Waziri Ciroma, 30 years old, from Kwamba Maji, Suleja, and Salisu Abdullahi, 40 years old, from Chanchaga, Minna.
DSP Wasiu Abidoun disclosed in the release that the suspects were arrested by the operatives of the crack squad and SIB based on the technical intelligence.
He said the efforts were a result of the command's continued investigation of the recently arrested one of the notorious kidnappers, Ibrahim Maisaji (AKA Jayi), who was among the kidnappers that were planning to establish a camp around Maje Suleja.
According to the PPRO, his confession led to the arrest of the suspects, adding that Waziri Ciroma, during the investigation, confessed that he belongs to the Jayi gang and that he took Jayi to his neighbour's house in Kwamba, where a female victim was kidnapped during a naming ceremony held last year and a random sum of N4 million was collected, adding that his share of the sum was fifty thousand naira only.
He also pointed out that he benefited about N30,000 as his share from another kidnapping operation and that N3 million in ransom was collected.
Meanwhile, the two suspects, according to the press release, were under investigation, and they were to be arraigned in court as soon as investigations were concluded.
Niger State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Hon. Suleiman Umar, has expressed optimism that the New Niger policy of Farmer Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, aimed at improving infrastructure across all spheres of the state, is progressing steadily and effectively.
Hon. Suleiman Umar, in company with his counterpart in the Ministry for Planning Commission, Hon. Mustapha Ndajiwo, gave the assurance when they led the project monitoring team to inspect all the ongoing road projects in Minna, the state capital.
The commissioner disclosed that the contractors handling various road projects were on course, hence the need for frequent monitoring to ensure timely delivery of the work.
He noted that the state government, under the dynamic leadership of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, was poised to change the narrative by improving infrastructure decay across the state.
On the Minna-Bida road project, the commissioner expressed disappointment over the slow pace of the project and warned that the government would no longer condone any contractor that breached contractual terms, adding that the state government will soon take necessary measures to address the challenges confronting the Minna-Bida road project.
"It is quite disheartening that the project awarded by the immediate past administration with a down payment of about 67 percent was still at 40 percent completion. I have invited the contractor for discussion," he said.
On their separate submissions, the project manager and the project consultant, Dantata and Sawoe, Naafey Bin Shaukat, and Engr. Ibrahim Baba Musa, regretted the slow pace of the project and promised that the company would do all it could to resume back to site soonest.
On his part, the commissioner for Planning Commission, Hon. Mustspha Ndajiwo, stressed that the era of collecting contract mobilisation and going to sleep was gone and vowed that any contractor that tries to play smart will be sanctioned accordingly.
Hon. Ndajiwo expressed satisfaction with the contractors handling various road projects, noting that with the level and quality of work done so far, the New Niger vision was achievable.
The Commissioner for Planning Commission, however, enjoined all the contractors presently on site to maintain the pace of delivery of quality work in order to justify the confidence reposed in them by the state government.
He urged Nigerlites to support the government in its programmes and policies aimed at improving the social and economic wellbeing of the citizenry.
Projects inspected by the monitoring team included Chanchaga Dual Carriage Way, Leprosy Road, Tagwai Dam Road, Maitumbi Bypass Road, Yusuf Kolawale Road, and Minna-Bida Road, among others.
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