Agaju Madugba, Katsina
The Katsina State Police Command has raised a special squad to tackle the rising incidents of armed banditry and kidnappings in eight local government areas most of which share boundaries with Zamfara State and the notorious Rugu forest.
According to the Commissioner of Police, Sanusi Buba, the membership of the squad are drawn from the Police Mobile Force (PMF), Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), IGP Special Tactical Squad (STS), Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD), Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and IGP Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
Buba told reporters, yesterday, before the deployment of the squad, that the strike force were sent from Abuja after they had undergone further training, specifically designed for them, to crush the hoodlums and their associates.
He said: “I’m delighted to inform you that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) has magnanimously approved the deployment of special squad code-named Operation Puff Adder to Katsina state.
“They will be camped in three strategic locations, which cover all the eight front line local government areas.
“The squad has the mandate to tackle crimes in all parts of the state, in addition to flushing out bandits and other criminals from the front line local government areas.”