The Nigeria Police Special Tactical Squad (STS) has smashed a two-man
car stealing gang led by one Bashir Isiaku, aged 34, notorious for
stealing cars from the car park of the Jos University Teaching Hospital
(JUTH).
A statement released by the Police force spokesperson, DCP Frank Mba
today April 14th, said the arrest of Bashir, a graduate of one of the
Federal Polytechnics, came after painstaking efforts and investigations
by operatives of the STS to hunt down the criminals. Bashir and his
accomplice and Aminu Yakubu specialized in using customized master key,
crafted out of screwdriver to open and start vehicles. Police
investigations show that their choice of cars to steal are the ones
without special security features such as pedal or steering locks.
A total of twenty-one (21) vehicles have so far been recovered from the syndicate and their criminal receivers.
The following criminal receivers have also been arrested: in Funtua –
Rilwanu Garba, Ibrahim Hassan, Kabiru Aliyu, Sikiru Danjuma, Bashir
Abba; in Sokoto – Dodo Danbello, Mudeen Adelera, Nasiru Bello, Hassan
Bawa; in Kucheri – Magazine Garba; in Tsafe – Yushehu Abdullahi; in
Gusau – Abdurazaq Adekoya; and in Marafa – Kabiru Aliyu.
The recovered vehicles comprise 2 Opel Vectra, 1 Toyota Camry, 1
Honda CRV, 2 Toyota Carinae, 7 Golf-3, 1 Toyota Corolla, 6 Honda Civic
and 1 Toyota Avensis. The suspects claimed that they found it easy to
steal in JUTH due to the lax security at JUTH premises. Police
investigations reveal that their choice cars are Toyota products, Honda
products, and Volkswagen especially the Golf brand because these brand
of cars are in high demand by criminal receivers, either in whole or in
parts across the country and other neighboring countries.
In the light of the above, members of the public whose cars were
stolen between January 2019 and March 2020, within the premises of Jos
University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) are advised to come forward for
possible identification and recovery. Nigerians are equally enjoined to
take extra measures to secure their cars by utilizing special security
features such as steering or pedal locks, tracking systems, etc. In the
same vein, institutions and organizations are encouraged to enhance
security and access control within their premises to minimize the
possibility of theft and other mischief by criminals.
In a related development, a 28 year old female armourer, Fatima Garba
has been arrested alongside her gang of kidnappers and armed robbers,
notorious for attacking Nigerians around Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna and Niger
States.
Mba in his statement said Fatima was responsible for ensuring the safety of the weapons used by the gang whenever not in use.
”Fatima, who confessed of being the gang’s armourer for over a year,
claimed to receive a handsome reward each time the weapons were
returned to her after each operation. She acknowledged knowing that the
arms which she usually kept in a neatly dug hole in her compound were
used for robberies, kidnapping and other criminal purposes.
Investigations show that Fatima, who is a trader and single mother of
two was recruited by her boyfriend Abubakar Usman. Other members of the
gang include: Samaila Usman ‘m’ aged 28, Mohammed Ibrahim ‘m’ aged 30,
Mohammed Agali ‘m’ aged 22, Dahiru Bello ‘m’ aged 33, Shamsu Mohammed
‘m’ aged 30, Mohammed Usman ‘m’ aged 37, Umar Abdullahi ‘m’ 33, Buhari
Abubakar ‘m’ aged 33 and Abubakar Garba ‘m’ aged 37. Since they began
operations, the gang is estimated to have made over twelve million naira
from their various criminal escapades.”his statement read
Items recovered from the gang are:
– 5 AK47 rifles
– 1 G3 rifle
– 1 Berretta pistol
– 1476 rounds of ammunition
– 36 rounds of G3 ammunition
– 6 AK47 magazines
– 1 operational vehicle
– 8 mobile phones
– Box containing operational tools
Mba said all the suspects will be charged to court at the conclusion of investigations.