Police arrest 1,848 robbers in three months

THE Police have arrested 1,848 armed robbers nationwide since Mr. Ogbonna Onovo, the Inspector-General of Police, assumed office three months ago.

About 335 arms and ammunition, including a Rocket Launcher, and other hi-tech riffles were also recovered from the hoodlums during the period.

Onovo's Principal Staff Officer, Mr. Olanyinka Balogun, a Commissioner of Police in charge of the High Command Monitoring Team and Mr. Chris Okoro of the Police Public Relations Unit told journalists in Lagos at the weekend that crime rate in the country had significantly dropped, ascribing the trend to proactive crime fighting strategies adopted by the police administration.

"I am humble to say that various proactive measures put in place in the last three months have yielded positive results. In general, there has been a marked decrease in the rate of crime in the country. Cases of thuggery, ethnic clashes and other violent crimes are on the decline. Also, we are irrevocably committed to ensuring the successful implementation of the amnesty programme of the Federal Government in the Niger Delta region," Balogun said.

The two officers listed the major strides of the Onovo's administration as the arrest of a total of 1,848 armed and the recovery of 31,510 ammunition. The police have also recovered 335 assorted arms, including one Rocket Launcher, five Rocket Propellers, three Rockets and two General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG).

About 129 stolen vehicles were recovered nationwide and $282,300 retrieved from suspects in Kogi State.

To check the incidences of kidnapping and other vices in the South-East Zone, Balogun said the police have deployed hundreds of mobile policemen to the area.

Meanwhile, four suspects picked up by the police in connection with the kidnap of Chief Simeon Soludo, the father of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, are being interrogated by the police to ascertain if they were sponsored.

Top police sources at the Force Headquarters told The Guardian at the weekend that a team of policemen investigating the incident had made progress in their assignment.

The Guardian learnt that in the course of investigation, the suspects named other members of the gang who are now on the run.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), who also spoke to The Guardian on the issue, said the officers would soon make more arrest on the kidnap of Pa Soludo. It was also learnt that 50 suspected kidnappers were in the custody of the police in Abuja.

In his reaction to the incident, the younger Soludo, who is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the 2010 polls in Anambra State, simply told The Guardian: "It is well. I think it is political a bit. We'll see how it goes."