Police parade notorious bandit, eight informants in Zamfara

The Zamfara State Police Command, on Saturday, said it has arrested a 39-year-old notorious armed bandit popularly called Umar NaMaro and eight informants who supply arms and ammunition, foodstuff, motorcycles, military uniforms and deliver ransom to bandits in the state.

It also recovered one AK-47, a Lar rifle, and 174 rounds of live ammunition in the state.

The Command Public Relations Officer, SP Mohammed Shehu, said the Commissioner of Police, CP Kolo Yusuf, stated this while parading the suspects in Zamfara on Saturday.

According to him, the Zamfara command would keep doing its best to ensure a crime-free state.

According to him, CP Kolo has vowed to rid the state of criminal activities such as armed banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and other related crimes.

He added that the suspects arrested on 12th September 2022 are members of a notorious syndicate of informants who collaborate with bandits to terrorize peace-loving people of Gusau, K/Namoda, Tsafe, Bungudu LGAs, and environs.

According to him, the nefarious activities of this syndicate were giving information to bandits to make it easier for them to attack communities and kidnapping people for ransom.

He revealed that their recent dirty business was when one of the suspects, Abubakar Mainasara, popularly called Major, in his statement to the police, confessed to collecting N850,000 from the bandits to source military camouflage uniforms for them.

He said Abubakar Mainasara connived with one of their collaborators, a tailor, one Jamilu Lawali ‘M’ of Gusau, to source and sew the uniforms delivered to the bandits.

“The same suspect further confessed to collecting the sum of Two Million Naira (N2,000,000) from bandits to supply arms and ammunition for them, even though, two of his accomplices Lawal Ibrahim ‘M’ and Surajo Idris ‘M’ confirmed to the police that the money given to the suspect was Six Million Naira (N6,000,000) for the arms deal consignment and not N2,000,000,” he said.

According to him, the sum of N1 million was given to one Babangida Soja ‘M’, who in turn gave only N60,000 to Lawali for the supply of the ammunition who at the end supplied 10 rounds of AK-47 live ammunition which was handed over to bandits through Soja and Mainasara.

He further added that on 16th September 2022, at about 1400hrs, Police Tactical Operatives of the Command, while on surveillance patrol along Gusau – Kotor Koshi – Mada axis, intercepted the notorious armed bandit Umar NaMaro.

He said in the course of interrogation, the suspect confessed to being one of the notorious bandits terrorizing Mada and Kotor Koshi with banditry attacks, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and other heinous crimes.

During an on-the-spot search, one AK-49 and one Lar rifle, and 174 round of live ammunition were recovered in his possession.

He said the suspect had made important revelations that would assist the Police in their investigation, adding that the Police Tactical Operatives arrested eight suspects during intelligence-led operations conducted in some criminal hideouts in Gusau and Tsafe Local Government Area respectively.