Military Commander, Operation Safe Haven, Major General Austin Agundu has publicly paraded ten criminal suspects, including militia kingpin Timothy Zakka, for crimes ranging from cattle rustling and terrorizing residents of Plateau and other North Central states since 2001.
One of the suspects, Isa Abubakar, a serving member of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), assigned to Ancha Community School in Isukwaito LGA of Abia State, was arrested in possession of 477 sachets of illicit drugs.
Gen. Agundu disclosed this on Monday while parading the suspects at the Headquarters of Operation Safe Haven in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
Some of the suspects in possession of illegal arms and ammunitions, the Commander said, are cult-gang members and drugs peddlers.
“One of such militia kingpin is Mr Timothy Zakka, aka Timaya, who had unleashed a reign of terror across Plateau and perhaps North Central Region since 2001,” said Gen. Agundu.
“The eventual arrest of Timaya by Operation Safe Haven special operation team is a products of three months painstaking intelligence work, during which the notorious criminal had adopted varying styles to evade possible identification.”
Another suspect, James Elisha of Rakwok village of Barkin-Ladi, was arrested for illegal possession of an AK-47 rifle loaded with 1 round of 7. 62 mm ammunition.
The Commander stated that the suspect, a cattle rustler, had accidentally shot himself on his left foot while attempting to flee on the sighting of military troops.
Gen. Agundu noted that Isa Abubakar, the drug-peddling Corps member, was arrested in a commercial vehicle en route to Jos, in possession of 477 sachets of illicit drugs suspected to be flunitrazepam.
He explained that the arrest of Abubakar led to the arrest of Chinedu Egbsbuike with 146 sachets of same substance at Saint Murumba in Jos.
Commander Agundu advised community leaders to expose all criminal elements in their midst to avoid being treated as accomplices to crime.