The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has paraded 43 criminal suspects for crimes ranging from culpable homicide, kidnapping, armed robbery, stealing, ‘one chance,’ unlawful possession of guns, and cultism, to carjacking.
They were on Tuesday displayed by the police, 11 of them were arrested over alleged involvement in ‘one chance’.
Haruna Garba, the Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory, told reporters that “a total of 30 rounds of ammunition, five firearms, and three stolen vehicles were recovered by the police.”
Garba added that on October 29, police operatives from Kabusa Division arrested one Obichukwu Elijah and Johnson Samuel for stealing and conspiring to sell a Toyota Sienna with registration number EPE 397 DP, which belonged to one Friday Ogelenya.
He went on to say that the suspects were caught while attempting to sell the vehicle in Apo’s Gudu mechanic area.
Suspects admitted to their involvement in the crime and will be charged in court once the inquiry is completed.
According to him, on October 24, one Faith James at the Trademore Division reported that she boarded a green Peugeot vehicle with Reg. No. CK 202 GWA from ACO Estate junction heading to Trademore, but was robbed of her belongings, including a cash sum of N110,000, by a purported commercial vehicle driver and her colleagues who pretended to be genuine passengers.
He emphasized that the division’s police operatives swung into action, trailed and arrested one Osai Donatus in the process of committing the same act on another innocent passenger, and that the suspect confessed to his involvement in the crime and is assisting the police in apprehending his other gang members at large.
The CP further claimed that on 30th October, while on normal patrol near the DSS Quarters, Asokoro operatives saw a Vento Volkswagen automobile with Reg. No. APP 307 GS, blue in color, moving suspiciously.
He explained that police intercepted the vehicle outside Niger Barracks and apprehended a five-man gang known as “Open and Close,” consisting of Lekan Adebayo (gang leader), Abraham Umukoro, Joseph Asobei, Blessing Gabriel (female), and Joy Livinus (female).
Garba went on to say that during interrogation, the suspects confessed to being a one-chance syndicate that specialized in carefully identifying and picking up their victims, transporting them to an isolated area, robbing them of their valuables, and dropping them off in isolated locations, and that while searching the vehicle, police operatives discovered four bundles of wrapped paper cut to money size, four car keys, and other valuables.
He also stated that on November 27th, one Bright Ezekiel and her friend Rose Augustine boarded a vehicle from Mogadishu Cantonment to Kubwa and were taken to an unknown destination where the sums of N482,000.00 and N387,500.00 were transferred from their accounts by suspected one-time robbers.
Following receipt of the report, he stated that police operatives from Asokoro Division swung into action and, with the assistance of the Nigeria Army Intelligence Unit, arrested five suspects, namely: Ogbonna Nwovu, Ndugo Ikechukwu, Amaechi Emezi, Felicia Udoh, and Adekunle Tayo, emphasizing that their operational vehicle, V/wagen Wagon taxi, with Reg. No.