Army arrests suspected bandits, arms traffickers across Nigeria

Abdullateef Fowewe

Troops from the Nigerian Army’s Joint Task Force (JTF) North West Operation FANSAN YAMMA and JTF South East Operation UDO KA have neutralised criminal threats in separate operations, arresting suspects and seizing weapons, the Army announced through a Sunday statement.

In Kaduna State’s Birnin Gwari Local Government Area, soldiers from 2 Battalion at Forward Operating Base Dogon Dawa set up a snap roadblock at Damari on May 8.

They intercepted 32-year-old suspected bandit Ibrahim Adamu on a motorcycle, recovering an AK-47 magazine, three mobile phones, Indian hemp, and other items.

Phone analysis uncovered “incriminating photographs showing him dressed in military camouflage and armed with a PKT machine gun alongside other suspected bandits,” the statement noted.

Adamu and the items are in custody for further probing.

In Abia State’s Umuahia North, 14 Brigade troops under Operation UDO KA responded to a May 9 distress call in Umuoriehe village, nabbing 22-year-old Ifeanyi Ezebuiro with a foreign-made Ruger pistol. Ezebuiro claimed the weapon was his late father’s; both he and the firearm are detained pending investigation.

The Army hailed these as “significant operational successes” in a renewed push against criminals.

“These operational gains highlights the relentless commitment of the Nigerian Army to denying criminal elements freedom of action and ensuring the safety and security of law-abiding citizens across the country,” the statement read.

It added that troops “remain resolute in sustaining aggressive operations against all forms of insecurity in line with the constitutional mandate of protecting Nigeria’s territorial integrity and national peace.”