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The Nigerian Army has disclosed that its troops along Mokwa-Jebba road intercepted and arrested a fleeing bandit in a vehicle travelling from the Northern part of the country to Ogbomoso town, in Oyo State, during a stop-and-search operation.
This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu, on Tuesday.
He said that the troops sighted an occupant of the vehicle who claimed to be “Sergeant Aminu Sule.”
Nwachukwu stated that the suspect had a pair of camouflage, military boots, a knife and substance suspected to be charms.
He said on further interrogation, the suspect revealed that he was travelling to Ogbomoso, claiming that the uniform and boots belonged to his brother, who he said was a soldier.
According to him, the suspect was fleeing from the ongoing military operations in Niger State to a safe haven.
The Army spokesperson further said the troops handed over the fleeing bandits to the police at Mokwa for further investigation.
“The heat on bandits and other criminal elements in Niger State has caused them to start fleeing to supposed safe havens.
“Members of the public, particularly around Niger State and contiguous states are, therefore, enjoined to be vigilant and report any suspected movement of fleeing bandits to security agencies,” Nwachukwu added.