From John Adams, Minna
One week after bandits attacks on some communities across two Local Government Areas of Paikoro and Munya in Niger state, the state police command has arrested one of the major informants who aided the attacks.
The attacks which saw the bandits in their hundreds invading about six communities in the two local government areas left no fewer than eight people dead and 15 others injured while 20 people mostly women were kidnapped by the bandits who also burnt down a church in the area.
Communities invaded by the bandits include Beni, old and new Dakolo, Aboloso, Ishau and Amale, all in Paikoro local government while Gwari Nyayi, Kabiri and Biri in Munya local government were also raided b the bandits.
According to the District Head of Beni, Alhaji Jafaru Umar Sarki who confirmed the invasion by the bandits, the operation started on Saturday eveningwhen the armed Men, numbering about 200, and in over 50 motorcycles stormed the communities in three different groups.
It was gathered that shortly after the attacks, detectives from the police command headquarters, acting on a tip off, stormed Kaffin-Koro development area and arrested the notorious informant, Abubakar Mohammed after three days of searching for the informants.
According to a source close to the police, the bandits before their takeoff from Zamfara state, contacted Abubakar Mohammed to “as usual” to provide them with the necessary information and help them clear the way so that they (Bandits) will encounter little or no resistance during their raid.
The bandits were said to have promised their chief information, Mohammed the sum of N1.5million which he confessed, wanted to use it to purchase grinding machine after the only one he had broke down years back.
The suspected informant the source said agreed to the terms of the bandits and consequently divulged the number of men of the local vigilante and regular policemen and the route they would take in addition to telling the bandits where they could get large number of cows to rustle.
In his confessional statement Mohammed told detectives investigating the case that one Nagala who is the head of the bandits contacted him that they are coming to Kaffin-koro and “i told them you are welcome”.
The informant, though an indigene of Borno state, had according to sources in Kafin-Koro, stayed in the town for over 30 years with his father who is now late.
As at the time of filing this report Mohammed is still in the Criminal Investigation Department of the state police command in Minna.
Meanwhile it was gathered that detectives have spread their dragnets which they believed very soon will lead to the arrest of Ngala and other members of the armed gang.
