The Nigeria Police Force Command in Zamfara State has announced the arrest of four foreigners among other persons terrorizing the Northwest region.
Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Zamfara Police Command, Shehu Mohammed, said the suspects were arrested through the collaborative efforts of the police and the leaders of the Zamfara Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).
Mohammed also noted that the Federal Intelligence Investigation Bureau (FIIB) and Special Tactical Squad deployed by the Inspector General of Police(IGP), played a significant role in nabbing the suspects.
According to the PPRO, the suspects perpetrated their crimes in Kaduna, Kastina, Zamfara, and Niger States.
The foreign bandits and their accomplices were paraded at the Gusau Police Command, Zamfara State on Friday.
Several sophisticated weapons were also recovered from the suspects, which include four AK-49 rifles, nine magazines, 960 live ammunition and assorted charms.
They confessed to having been involved in kidnapping, cattle rustling, and illegal possession of firearms.
A Nigerien, Shehu Ali Kachalla, confessed that he has been involved in the business of selling arms and ammunition trafficking to bandits for over three years, adding that he had sold over 450 rifles to different groups of bandits within Nigeria.
Another bandit, Abubakar Ali, disclosed that he and his group operated within Kagarko and Chikun Local Government Areas of Kaduna State.
He confessed that he had been kidnapping for over three years and had collected lots of money as ransom. He also added that he had killed at least five of his victims who couldn’t afford to pay the demanded ransom.
Several bandit groups have been linked to various criminal activities ranging from kidnappings to killings and raping among others, in the North particularly the Northeast and Northwest.
Billions of naira in ransom has been paid by relatives of abducted victims and the government to bandits in the country.
