Politics

Police arrest dismissed soldier, two others for armed robbery

This was disclosed in a statement on Friday afternoon by police spokesperson, Okon Placid.

The Nigeria Police Force says it has arrested a dismissed soldier, Abubakar Musa, and two other suspects believed to be members of a notorious armed robbery syndicate, recovering 10 stolen vehicles in Kaduna State.

Mr Musa, according to the police, was a dismissed corporal of the Nigerian Army who posed as a serving soldier to evade arrest while carrying out criminal activities.

The dismissed corporal and the other suspects—Hassan Umar and Joshua Raphael—were apprehended on 16 March, during an operation by the Force Intelligence Department–Special Tactical Squad (FID-STS).

The police spokesperson said investigations identified Mr Musa as the alleged ringleader of the group.

According to police findings, the syndicate specialised in stealing vehicles and transporting them across locations, often tampering with or completely removing registration details to conceal ownership and avoid detection.

The operation led to the recovery of 10 vehicles of different brands, including Toyota Hilux trucks, Toyota Corolla cars, a Pontiac Vibe GT, a Honda vehicle, a Lexus car, and a Toyota RAV4 SUV. Several of the recovered vehicles were found without registration numbers.

Police authorities said efforts are ongoing to track down other fleeing members of the syndicate and recover additional stolen items.