The Sokoto State Police Command says it has arrested suspected bandit financiers and members of a motorcycle theft syndicate in coordinated operations carried out in Sokoto and neighbouring Zamfara State.
The information is contained in a statement issued on Friday in Sokoto by the command’s spokesman, DSP Ahmed Rufai.
Rufai said three suspects were arrested in Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State for allegedly financing a notorious bandit gang through the sale of rustled cattle.
He said one of the suspects, identified as Ruwa Ginyo, the Fulani head of Gidan-Madi, was arrested alongside two accomplices.
According to him, four cows suspected to have been rustled were recovered during the operation.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Ahmed Musa, described the suspects as key financiers sustaining bandit activities in the area.
Musa said cutting off the flow of funds to criminal groups remains a major strategy in the fight against banditry and other violent crimes.
The police commissioner added that in a related development, operatives of the command’s Strike Force carried out a raid in Talata Mafara, Zamfara State, where several suspects linked to motorcycle theft and resale were arrested.
He said two motorcycles earlier reported stolen in Sokoto State were also recovered during the operation.
Musa noted that the arrests underscored the command’s resolve and expanded operational reach in combating crime across state boundaries.
He warned criminal elements that fleeing to neighbouring states would not shield them from arrest.
The commissioner urged residents, particularly livestock and motorcycle dealers, to always verify ownership documents before any transaction and promptly report suspicious activities to security agencies.
