Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in Niger State have taken 36 individuals into custody for alleged involvement in violent thuggery, ritualistic practices, power infrastructure vandalism, and livestock theft. The clampdown, detailed in an official bulletin released by the command, was executed through targeted security sweeps and intelligence-gathering operations designed to suppress criminal networks across various districts.
What led to the series of arrests across the state?
The security interventions followed distress calls and intelligence reports regarding recurring youth restiveness, gang clashes, and economic sabotage in locations such as Minna, Lambata, and Bosso. According to the Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, the comprehensive operations resulted in the apprehension of multiple suspects across separate incidents, all of whom have subsequently been arraigned in court.
How were the suspects linked to gang violence and thuggery?
The initial sweep occurred on 29 October, when the Anti-Thuggery Unit intercepted seven individuals in the Albishir area of Minna following reports of persistent hostilities involving the Gurara, Albishir, and Gbeganu communities. Investigators tied the clashes to an ongoing feud originating from a 2025 party dispute that allegedly claimed the life of one Sani Mohammed. Operatives recovered dangerous weapons, including swords and cutlasses, during the raid.
In a separate incident on 16 October, 11 youths aged 15 to 25 were picked up following a bloody confrontation between factions from Kafintela and Samande in Tunga, which resulted in a fatality and widespread destruction of shops. Furthermore, a joint intervention by police and local vigilantes on 18 October netted 13 individuals amid escalating youth unrest between the Angwan-Biri and Tudun-Fulani enclaves in Bosso.
What were the details behind the alleged ritual arrest?
In an operation conducted on 27 October at approximately 8:30 p.m., police raided an isolated compound in the Garima district of Minna, arresting five men, including a native doctor. Authorities recovered blood-stained garments, calabashes, live and slaughtered chickens, a large mat, and a knife from the premises. Police disclosed that four of the suspects allegedly sought money rituals involving human remains discovered during mining activities, offering their own biological children as human collateral before being directed to use chickens instead.
How did the police handle transformer vandalism and theft cases?
Addressing critical infrastructure sabotage, officers from the 'A' Division in Minna arrested two men on 28 October for allegedly stripping electrical installations in the Three-Arms Zone, while also tracking down alleged receivers of the stolen cables. A similar operation on 6 October in Lambata led to the apprehension of three suspects caught with compromised armored cables and bolt cutters meant for a local transformer in Kokogbe.
In a final incident, a suspect identified as Adamu Abubakar was tracked down and remanded in connection with a foiled goat theft operation in Angwan- Kampani, where accomplices abandoned a getaway vehicle. The state police command has reiterated its commitment to sustaining high-visibility patrols and intelligence-driven interventions to safeguard lives and property throughout the region.