Police Arrest Suspects For Theft, Robbery, Thuggery In Niger State

The Niger State Police Command has recorded significant successes in its ongoing fight against crime and criminality across Minna metropolis, with the arrest of several suspects for theft, robbery, thuggery, and drug-related offences.

According to the spokesman of the command, Wasiu Abiodun, police operatives attached to Chanchaga Division arrested one Aliyu Mohammed of Chanchaga for allegedly stealing a lister engine, a drum, and other items valued at over one million naira from a shop entrusted to him near a mosque.

In a statement he issued on Tuesday, Abiodun said the suspect confessed during interrogation and led police to one Ibrahim Mu’azu of Sabon-Titi, who bought the stolen items.

The lister engine was recovered, and both suspects were charged to court. Similarly, on January 12, 2026, a motorcycle rider identified as Idris Yahaya, aged 36, of Darulsalam area, Bosso, was arrested for robbing a student of an Infinix mobile phone valued at over ₦170,000. The suspect reportedly impersonated a soldier and forcefully took the victim to an isolated area within Bosso Estate.

He was apprehended by community members after the victim raised alarm and has since been charged to court.

In another development, four suspects were arrested for criminal conspiracy, grievous assault, and thuggery following an attack on a vigilante operative in Kpakungu on December 24, 2025.

The suspects allegedly disarmed the victim of a locally made gun and a cutlass and threatened him to stop arresting their associates.

Those arrested include Usman Mohammed, Shuaibu Shehu, Husseini Umar, and Abdullahi Mohammed, all residents of Kpakungu. Dangerous weapons and suspected cannabis were recovered, while investigations continue to apprehend one other suspect currently at large.

The case has been transferred to the Anti-Thuggery Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department.

Meanwhile, police raids on criminal hideouts across Minna led to the arrest of ten additional suspects between December 23 and 27, 2025, from areas including Alagbado, Tudun-Natsira, Angwan-Daji, Abdulsalam Quarters, and New Market.

Exhibits recovered include cutlasses and suspected cannabis. All suspects have been charged to court.

Further operations on January 17 and 18, 2026, resulted in the arrest of several other suspects in Kwangila, Kasuwan-Gwari, Sabon-Gari, and Abdulsalam areas for thuggery and possession of illicit substances. Recovered items include knives, suspected cannabis, illicit chemicals, and a locally made dane gun.

The Police Command assured residents of its continued commitment to ensuring safety and security across Niger State and urged members of the public to continue providing timely and useful information to aid crime-fighting efforts.