Dele Ogbodo in Abuja
The police have said they arrested four suspects in connection with the kidnapping and subsequent murder of an army officer, Col. Samaila Yunusa, in Kaduna on March 27, this year.
In a statement made available to journalists by the Force Public Relations Officer, Bisi Kolawole, in Abuja, he said the arrests were made following discreet, sustained and painstaking intelligence efforts of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and the Kaduna State Command Special Investigation Bureau operatives.
She said the combined team smashed the deadly killer gang and consequently arrested the four suspects in connection with the kidnapping and subsequent murder of an army officer, Yunusa.
Kolawole said: “Sequel to the kidnapping and killing of the officer, the team from the Inspector General of Police (IG) deployed the technical and human intelligence assets of the Force which led to the arrest of a Prison Warder named Abdullahi Adamu, who is a close associate of one of the prime suspects who was using the Tecno mobile phone stolen from the slain colonel.”
According to her, further investigation led to the arrest of two of the prime suspects, namely: Ibrahim Kabiru ‘m’, 23, (aka uztaz) and Ebele Precious ‘m’, 41 (aka pastor), while the gang leader Emeka Okeke Cyprain ‘m’, 44, and one other member of the syndicate, Chijioke Ugwuanyi, ‘m’, 42 (aka CJ) were later arrested.
The spokesperson said: “Items recovered by the Police from this notorious gang, which specialised in car snatching and truck hijacking in the State and selling same to unsuspecting members of the public, include one AK 47 rifle, two magnum pistols, one Nissan Pathfinder Jeep and documents of six houses located in Anambra State of which Emeka Okeke Cyprian confessed were proceeds of his previous criminal activities.”
While commending the IG IRT and operatives of the Kaduna State SIB detectives for their commitment, diligence and professionalism which led to the breakthrough and subsequent recovery of the weapons and a stolen Jeep, the IG, Mr. Solomon Arase, enjoined the citizens to continue to support the police with relevant information.
Meanwhile, he said all the four suspects arrested in connection with the crime and presently in custody of the Force would soon be arraigned before a competent court of law for criminal charges preferred against them while effort to arrest the fleeing members of the gang continues.
