27 arrested as Niger Police raid criminal hideouts, nab suspected illegal miners

Niger State Police Command has arrested 27 suspects during coordinated raids on criminal hideouts in Minna, including 10 men who allegedly confessed to travelling from Yobe State to engage in illegal mining activities.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed this in a statement in Minna, saying the arrests followed sting operations carried out by operatives of the Tudun-Wada Division on July 4 and 5.

According to him, police raided identified blackspots around Kafintella, Sauka-Kahuta and Building Materials Road, where 10 suspects were arrested with dangerous weapons, including a long curved sharp sickle, a digger, a stick and a shovel.

“During interrogation, they confessed that they had come from Yobe State to Minna for illegal mining activities. The suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Minna, for further investigation,” Abiodun said.

He added that operatives of ‘A’ Division, Minna, also conducted overnight raids on July 6 across PZ area, Angwan-Kaje, Saiko, Abdusalam Quarters, Tudun-Natsira and Paida, leading to the arrest of 17 additional suspects.

Among those arrested was a notorious and wanted thug identified as Abdulkarim Mohammed, popularly known as “Na-Kareemu”, who had allegedly been evading arrest over previous criminal activities.

The police spokesman said the suspects were found in possession of four cutlasses, two knives, cannabis and other illicit substances, adding that investigations are ongoing.

The command said the operation forms part of its sustained efforts to reduce crime and criminality across the state.