Police nab bandits who killed 18 worshipers in Niger State mosque

No fewer than six persons have been arrested by operatives of the Niger State Police Command in connection with the killing of about 18 worshippers in a mosque in Maza-Kuka community, Mashegu Local Government Area of the state.

This was disclosed by the Niger State Government and also confirmed by the Niger State Police Command on Thursday.

The Niger State Commissioner for Local Government, Community Development, Chieftaincy Affairs and Internal Security, Emmanuel Umar, confirmed the development when he briefed newsmen in his office on Wednesday in Minna, the state capital.

Umar, however, said he could not confirm the exact number of arrests that have been made so far by the security agencies in the state.

He said Governor Abubakar Sani Bello had signed and assented into law the Vigilante Corp Law to boost the activities of the corps and strengthen the internal security architecture in the state.

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Umar further disclosed that some communities were being exploited by armed bandits in parts of the state to pay levies before they could be allowed to access their farms, just as he appealed to them resist any exploitation from criminal elements.

He said the state government was working hard to ensure that voluntary security organisations in the state are reorganised by “bringing them into a unified structure based on the signed law and to have optimum performance.”

The Public Relations Officer of the State Police Command, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, said six persons were arrested in connection with the killings that took place on October 26, 2021.

Abiodun identified the suspects as Mohammed Lawali, Suleiman Ibrahim, Mohammed Rebo, Bashir Audu, Monsoru Abubakar and Abubakar Hamidu.

He stated further: “Investigations by the Police team revealed that the leader of the gang, Mohammed Lawali and some of the gang members are escapees from the Lokoja Correctional Centre in Kogi State.

“Bashir Audu was arrested for his criminal role of supplying hard drugs to the gang.

“Two AK47 rifles, three fully-loaded magazines, while various parcels of hard drugs were recovered from them.”

The Eagle