Army arrest policeman, 9 others over Plateau killings
- A policeman, Sergeant Zakariah John, and 9 others have been paraded by the Army over Plateau killings
- John was arrested for allegedly selling ammunition to cattle rustlers and other criminals
- Army said that he was caught selling a round of 7.62MM special ammunition to a suspected rustler
A police sergeant, Zakariah John, with the Counter Terrorist Unit in Maiduguri, Borno state, was arrested in Barkin Ladi, Plateau state, for allegedly selling ammunition to cattle rustlers and other criminals.
The Nation reports that John was caught selling a round of 7.62MM special ammunition to a suspected rustler.
Legit.ng gathered that most of the attacks and killings in Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Mangu and Bassa councils have been linked to proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
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The media officer of Operation Safe Haven, Major Adam Umar, who paraded the suspects on Thursday, July 26, said: “We have in our custody a serving police sergeant - Sgt. Zakariah John and a suspected rustler, Sani Muhammed, both of whom are suspected to be gun runners.
“We also have in our custody Patrick Choji and Yakubu Davou who were arrested for illegal possession of firearms. We have 10 suspects in all but with various offences, ranging from rustling, robbery, impersonation and gun running.
“They were arrested from various spots, some from Jos north, Jos south, Barkin Ladi and Nasarawa state.
“Victor Davou and Joshua Dagwom are suspected to be part of those who rustled cows in Fan district of Barkin Ladi before the attacks last month, though we are still investigating to ascertain their level of involvement.”
Narrating how the suspects were arrested, Umar said: “As we intensified our investigations following the June 23 incident, we arrested one of the rustlers and he confessed that a policeman supplies him ammunition. So he was told to ask for another supply.
“We took the suspect to the meeting point, laid an ambush, and the supplier appeared – he supplied 180 rounds of 7.62MM special. Each round of ammunition was sold for N450. It used to be N400 but according to the supplier, scarcity of the product forced him to increase the price.
“That was how the suspect was arrested and upon interrogation, we discovered he is a police sergeant serving with the Counter Terrorist Unit in Maiduguri.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), through its president Comrade Ayuba described the recent killings in Plateau state senseless and barbaric.
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Source: Legit.ng
