ν Also Boko Haram kingpins, gunrunners
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Department of State Services (DSS), has announced the arrest of suspects who abducted the five German expatriates, as well as Boko Haram fighters and gunrunners.
In a release signed by Tony Opuiyo, the Service revealed that it recovered items including pistol, AK-47 magazines, FN rifles, 989 rounds of ammunition, one round of 9mm ammunition, Beretta magazine and the sum of N457, 140 during the exercise.
According to the statement, the kidnap syndicate that snatched the Germans off Bayelsa coastline in Brass Local Government area was smashed at the Federal Housing Authority Estate, Lugbe, FCT.
The members are Ebifagbe Dickson, Williams Jephter, Messiah Philips, Sample Reuben, Prosper Ebitari and Charles Krobo James.
The DSS said the gang was intercepted while plotting to perpetrate series of kidnap operations in the Federal Capital Territory-Abuja
Also, it said: “On July 3, at Kakuri Industrial Area in Kaduna State, the Service arrested one Haliru Hassan and six other members of a notorious kidnap gang operating along the Abuja – Kaduna High Way.
“The gang, which comprised Usman Abdulkadir, Yusuf Saidu, Abubakar Shuiabu, Abukakar Sulamen, Uzairu Bawa, and Sani Abubakar, has been terrorising motorists and commuters within the Rijana and Katari axis of the Abuja-Kaduna Highway.
“On July 4, 2017, along Zaria – Funtua Road in Giwa LGA, Kaduna State, the Service busted another kidnap gang and apprehended its kingpins, Rabiu Sani aka Dogo and his close associate, Abubakar Sani. Sani is a notorious kidnapper and gunrunner who has been supplying arms and ammunition to criminal elements in Kaduna, Kano, Taraba and Plateau states.”
In Kogi State, the statement added, the Service arrested Jonathan Lukas and his accomplice, Nafiu Usman at Ajipome, Dekina Local Government area on July 27, 2017, for their involvement in the series of kidnapping incidents in the state.
A tactical operation against fleeing Boko Haram fighters on July 1, 2017, at Sakwai in Kachia LGA of the Kaduna State also saw the arrest of one Usman Musa, a high profile Boko Haram cell leader, alongside six of his accomplices, namely Isa Halidu, Ibrahim Dauda, Bature Mohammed, Buhari Dauda, Inusa Usman and Adamu Ibrahim. Light arms, ammunition and radical literature were recovered from the cell
Similar operations also yielded arrests in Taraba, Kano and Lagos states.