When police, govt war on crime yield result in Kano

With the declaration of war by police and the Kano state government on crime it appears there is no more hiding place for criminals in the commercial city. Thus, it is a hard period for criminal elements operating in the state. For the past three weeks, security agents in the state have on daily basis […]

With the declaration of war by police and the Kano state government on crime it appears there is no more hiding place for criminals in the commercial city. Thus, it is a hard period for criminal elements operating in the state.
For the past three weeks, security agents in the state have on daily basis clamped down on suspected criminals within and outside Kano metropolis, thereby arresting and sometimes killing them.
Kano Chronicle observed that a number of weapons including guns, ammunitions and local dangerous weapons, drugs and cash were recovered from various suspected criminals recently.
On the 23rd of last month, police had paraded 45 suspected criminals allegedly responsible for many of the crimes that carried out in the state. The suspects were apprehended during a police raid on criminals’ hideouts at different locations in Kano. Their offence ranges from armed robbery, drug peddling, burglary, fraud, religious extremism, car snatching, forgery, cattle rustling and arms running.
The suspects were paraded before the state governor Albdullahi Umar Ganduje, police commissioner Alhaji Muhammad Musa Katsina and other government functionaries at the Police Command in Bompai area, Kano.
Also on Monday, February 29, 2016, three suspected armed robbers were shot dead by the police after they ambushed the criminals at Challawa Industrial Estate. Four other members of the eight-man gang were arrested while one escaped with bullet wounds.
The suspects had at the early hours of Monday kidnapped one Dalbir Singh, an Indian national, forced him to his factory, BSV Industries Limited and attacked the three security guards of the company. After over-powering the security guards they forcefully blew off the company’s safe using a 500kg gas cylinder and took away the sum of N5million.
The arrested suspects are Habib Musa, Yunusa Asuku Ajana, Abel Isaac and Abdulrasheed  Usman have claimed that they were invited from Okene, Kogi state to rob the company by some staff of the company who were at large.
Kano Chronicle gathered that items recovered from the suspects include
N3m, 2 laptop computers, 5 handsets, 1 revolver, 3 AK47 rifles and 5 pistols. Others are 1 pump action rifle, Jack knives, assorted ammunition, military uniform, masks and some charms.
In a separate development, 13 Libya bound youths from Edo State were also intercepted by the police as they were about moving to Libya with forged international passports. Four of the suspects were teenage girls. Police said they were transported from Edo State to Kano for an onward movement to the North African country for an unknown mission.
Speaking at the occasion, the Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Musa Katsina said the arrested members of the gang have made useful statements to the police.
He added that they had also confessed to being responsible for series of kidnapping, armed robbery, assassination and terrorism activities in the North axis of the country.
“They specifically mentioned Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Nassarawa, Niger, Katsina and Bauchi as areas of their operations,” he said.
The commissioner said “the mission of the 13 Libian bound suspects can as well be interpreted to mean a mission tainted with criminality. We have commenced investigation and I have contacted the Interpol.”
However, Governor Ganduje said said “this is the first time I have seen a collection of suspected armed robbers, buglers, car snatchers and cattle rustlers.”
Ganduje, who was shocked by the confession of one of the suspects, Aminu, a car snatcher, who told the governor how he was arrested seven times and taken to court but was freed.
He told the governor how he was recruited into the obnoxious activity in Jos and he had participated in many car snatching operations before police arrested him on his way to Kano with a stolen vehicle.
Also another suspect, Jubril narrated to the governor how he and others broke into a ware house and stole 250 bags of rice. Others told him how they had participated in armed robberies operations and how they were helping others to bring in cocaine, Indian hemp and other dangerous drugs into to Kano from Aba in Abia State.
The governor who appeared furious upon hearing the criminals testimonies bemoaned the courts for poor handling of criminal cases brought before them by the police.
He said: “When criminals are taken to court within time we will see them roaming the streets with the intention to commit other crimes. We would be watching because Kano State Government has interest in what police are doing now. When people are arrested and confessed to offences that warrant them to be jailed but the court always free them. This is very unfortunate. In fact we are thinking of taking the issue to the NJC in Abuja because it will not be business as usual.”
However, items recovered from the 45 criminals include 23 stolen vehicles, 8 arms, 250 bags of rice, 4 tricycles, N13m, large quantity of cocaine worth N2bn, 32 bags of Indian hemp valued at N2.5m, 10 International Passports, 41 cows, 12 goats and 7 sheep.