How Policemen captured 43 suspected criminals in Bauchi

Bauchi State Police Command said it arrested 43 suspected criminals, including bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, among others, since the resumption of the new Commissioner of Police, Habu Sani, three weeks ago, TOPNAIJA.NG reports.

The CP said this in a speech on Saturday at the launch of a new strategy tagged, ‘Sectoral Community Policing’, to improve security in the state.

He disclosed that out of the 43 suspects arrested, eight had been convicted, while 35 others were awaiting trial.

Sani said, “It is important note that with this strategy, several criminal activities in the state have been checked.

“Twenty six suspects were arrested in connection with different offences, such as, sara-suka (thuggery), babeli (belonging to unlawful society responsible for extra judicial killings in the state), being in possession of counterfeit US dollars, dispensing without licence and dealing with dangerous drugs.

“Eight suspects were charged to court and convicted while 35 are in police custody undergoing investigation.”

He said exhibits recovered from them included one locally made pistol with six rounds of  live ammunition, 15 cutlasses, one motorcycle, 40 wraps of dry leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, 196 sachets of assorted dangerous drugs and bottles of codeine syrup as well as 903 pieces of counterfeit 100 US dollars.

The police boss said the ‘sectorisation’ of community policing was necessary to ensure that only people from a community were engaged in policing the people.

In his remarks, the District Head of Bauchi Metropolis, Nuru Jumba, commended Sani’s initiative, saying community policing was the best approach to crime prevention.

Speaking on behalf of the vigilante groups, Head of the Vigilante, popularly known as Yan Komiti in the Nufawa area of Bauchi metropolis, Almustapha Maidawa, pledged to cooperate with the police to effectively rid Bauchi communities of crimes.