The Kogi State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of Police Inspector Aminu Muhammed and his gang for alleged armed robbery in the state
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Kogi State Police Command, SP William Ayah, who confirmed the arrest to Newsmen on Tuesday, said the Police Officer has been arrested and is already in detention.
It was gathered that he robbed the residences of those living around the Police ‘C’ Division in Lokoja, the state capital.
According to the source, he was arrested last Sunday after a robbery incident, and further checks revealed he has been involved in several similar cases in the past.
Luck, however, ran out of him this time following the escapades of a notorious gang of armed robbers who specialise in robbing houses of household items and cars.
The source further confirmed that one of the cars he allegedly stole was found in the workshop of a panel beater, *Arome Moses* who was already working on changing the car’s colour at Ochadamu near Anyigba in the State.
Those who knew the vehicle and were aware of the robbery incident that occurred in the owner’s house on June 14, 2024, quickly raised alarm upon sighting the car.
The car’s plate number had already been changed to an
Abuja number just as a car dealer’s receipt, backdated to 2020, was presented by the Officer as his evidence of purchasing it.
It was gathered that the panel beater had primed the car prior to changing its colour before the alarm was raised.
After raising the alarm, personnel of the Quick Response Unit (QRU) attached to the Police Area Command, Idah, were quickly invited, and the panel beater was apprehended.
Upon reaching the ‘A’ Division in Lokoja, where the QRU took the apprehended panel beater to, it was found that the criminals who committed the robbery had already been arrested for another crime.
One of the members of the gang of armed robbers, who had also been on the Police wanted list for other crimes, confessed to the commission of the robbery and named the Police Officer as the mastermind.
He confessed that they were contracted to rob the house of the owner of the car for the sole purpose of getting the car for him.
Other sources from the Police Officer’s village, Akpakidigbo, revealed that he has brought uncountable numbers of cars to his palatial mansion in the village in the past, thereby raising suspicions over his source of income and leading to the conclusion that he has been thriving on the proceeds of crime.
The community is accordingly waiting to see the outcome of the matter, pointing out that the State Government under His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, has been ensuring adequate security for the State.
They are, however, worried that the involvement of the Police Officer in robbing citizens and residents of the State is already sending the wrong signal and may truncate the government’s efforts at providing security.
They are therefore angling for justice to be done in this matter as a deterrent to others.
Similarly, sources close to the Police Headquarters in the State disclosed that the Commissioner of Police in the State has personally picked interest in the matter, having earlier vowed not to condone any act that will tarnish the image of the force.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP William Ayah, said that the Commissioner of Police, CP Bertrand Onuoha, has ordered a thorough investigation before the next line of action can be taken over the alleged misconduct.
