Mohammed Adamu, inspector general of police in Nigeria, says 424 kidnap suspects were arrested in one month through Operation Puff Adder

MOHAMMED Adamu, Nigeria inspector general of police, has said that his men arrested 424 suspected kidnappers and recovered 10,860 ammunitions in the last one month. He said the successful implementation of Operation Puff Adder’ enabled the police to respond to internal security threats in the last one month.

At a conference with senior police officers in Abuja on Monday, June 17, Adamu said the launch of Operation Puff Adder in all the states of the federation led to the arrest of 424 kidnappers from May 10 to June 14. Of this figure, he said 101 kidnap suspects were arrested in Kaduna State, followed by Katsina State with 79 suspects. Fifty-four suspects were apprehended in Nasarawa State and 32 in Taraba State.

Similarly, he said a total of 44 murder suspects were arrested during the period under review, with the highest number of seven in FCT and six in Kano State. In addition, 276 armed robbery suspects were arrested within the same period with the highest number of 38 in Edo State, followed by 25 in Nasarawa State and 23 in FCT.

Similarly, a total number of 10,860 ammunition of various descriptions and calibre were recovered while a total of 301 firearms including a Rocket Launcher, AK47 assault rifles, pistols and locally made gun were equally recovered from criminal elements across the country.

Of this figure, he said the highest number 80 were recovered in Katsina State, followed by Edo State with 26 and Kaduna State with 25. “Furthermore, 176 suspected cultists were arrested across the country while 77 stolen vehicles were recovered by Operation Puff Adder operatives nationwide between May 10 and June 14, with the highest number of 29 in FCT.

“It is to be emphasized that the achievements were recorded with the cooperation of members of the public in a manner that clear demonstrates the increasing determination of the citizens to support the police in restoring internal security. It was also the result of the sacrifice, courage, zeal and exceptional dedication of police commanders and other ranks.

“I therefore wish to use the opportunity of this forum to immensely thank all well-meaning Nigerians for their support and to commend you and other personnel of the Nigeria Police across all ranks for aligning to my policing vision and supporting the implementation of the strategies towards restoring internal security. We might have taken giant steps against crime and criminality but the battle is still far from being over.

“I therefore charge you to sustain the sense of commitment to duty as it represents a sacred call to national duty. I remain conscious of the challenges across all Commands/Formations and I can assure you that concerted efforts are being made with the support of Mr. President to tackle and bring far-reaching solutions to these challenges,” he said.

Adamu reassured Nigerians that police have frameworks that will facilitate the strengthening of Operation Puff Adder and ensure the sustenance of its gains. This, according to him, includes plans directed at re-organising and re-launching the Safer Highway and Safer City Models of Policing which will entail the acquisition of new fleet of vehicles that will be deployed to dominate the public space as well as the emplacement of CCTV and other cutting-edge technologies for city surveillance.

He said the current attempts at adopting and implementing the concept of community policing also represents part of enduring strategies aimed at changing the policing narratives of the country. He noted that community policing will ensure the effective integration of the citizens to internal security framework, guarantee the concept of policing by public consent and build partnership required to address peculiar communal threats.

– June 17, 2019 @ 16:07 GMT |