The Niger State Police Command has arrested an Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP Tanko, over alleged involvement in the illegal supply of arms and ammunition to bandits and other criminal elements in the state.
Tanko is reportedly in charge of the armoury of the Mobile Police Force (MOPOL) 12 in Minna.
Also arrested were the unit’s Chief Instructor, Inspector Jibrin, and another police personnel whose identity was not immediately disclosed.
A source close to MOPOL 12 told our correspondent that a fourth suspect allegedly involved in the operation escaped after learning of the arrests.
The source said the police were currently trailing the fleeing suspect.
The three police officers are being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Police Headquarters, Minna, alongside two civilians allegedly linked to the arms deal.
One of the civilians was reportedly conveying the weapons, while the other was allegedly waiting to receive them for onward delivery to unidentified persons.
The arrests followed the interception of a commercial vehicle along the Minna-Kontagora Road by a police patrol team.
The suspect found with the arms and ammunition was taken to the Area Command in Kontagora, where he allegedly confessed that the weapons were supplied by personnel attached to the MOPOL 12 armoury.
He reportedly told investigators that he was instructed to deliver the weapons to another civilian in Kontagora.
The suspect subsequently helped detectives arrange a meeting with the alleged recipient, leading to his arrest.
Both suspects were later transferred to the SCID in Minna for further investigation.
Efforts to reach the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, for confirmation were unsuccessful as his phone line was unreachable.
The development comes about a year after a DSP attached to MOPOL 12, Isah Abdullahi, popularly known as Kunkuri, was accused of involvement in the alleged diversion of arms and ammunition to bandits.
Abdullahi, who headed the unit’s armoury, reportedly died by suicide after an audit by officials from the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) allegedly uncovered missing weapons.
Preliminary findings at the time reportedly indicated that 13 AK-47 rifles and more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition were unaccounted for.
Further investigations allegedly led to the arrest of another police inspector, John Moses, who was accused of receiving arms from Abdullahi for onward delivery to criminal elements.
Moses was later reported to have died while in detention in Abuja.
