Operatives of the Police Strike Force of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested eight suspects allegedly terrorizing members of Nembe Bassambiri Community in Bayelsa State.
The suspects are Gift Vanman, Daniel Solomon, Ishmael Teknikio aka Moore, Rufus Itario, Joel Jubilee, Sylvanus Alatari, Sounpre Solomon, and Ayebanate Talbot (POS).
They were arrested on Saturday following a petition from a law firm on the activities of the hoodlums coupled with other similar complaints and intelligence in that region.
Items recovered include thee AK-47 Rifles, two pump action guns, one LAR rifle, one jack-knife, one dagger, magazines, 104 rounds of live ammunition of various calibers, two POS machines, 10 ATM Cards, and one rechargeable bulb.
Contrary to news making the rounds that the community was attacked by hoodlums dressed in Police uniforms, the Force Spokesperson, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the operatives were very professional in carrying out the operation and cautioned mischief makers against calculated attempts to destabilize the country.
“The Police wish to state in clear terms that the operation was carried out by a combined team of police operatives to sanitize the community, and the officers were professional, neutral, and proactive in the mission to liberate members of the community from the terror instilled by the nefarious activities of the armed hoodlums as the Force will not allow lawlessness or gross violations of the laws in any part of the country.
This is contrary to the distorted narrative in the news making the rounds that the community was attacked by hoodlums dressed in police uniforms.
The distorted news is clearly the handiwork of mischief makers and they are hereby warned against such calculated attempts to destabilize the country.
“It is also pertinent to send out a warning to all recalcitrant members of the society whose stock-in-trade is instilling fear into law-abiding members of the public and fomenting troubles across the country, to desist from such as the police will leave no stone unturned in the bid to rid our societies of hooliganism, terrorism, and gross violation of extant laws.
“The Nigeria Police Force hereby reassures Nigerians of the unwavering commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to attend to security issues affecting them by acting promptly on intelligence to curb such acts in any part of the country. Similarly, the Police assures the confidentiality of reliable informants while urging members of the public to partner with the Police and other security agencies with prompt and actionable intelligence on the activities of members of the underworld, and criminally-minded individuals, who foment troubles, commit crimes, and cause instability,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olukayode Egbetokun, has reiterated that the operation in Nembe is a signal to other hoodlums with similar intents of causing fear among the people with their activities across the country to turn a new leaf or be assured that the long and unbiased arm of the law will catch up with them in no distant time.
The suspects will be charged in court upon the conclusion of the investigations.
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