Police arrest notorious bandit, Babuga Datijo and four informants in Niger state; recover over N5m

The Niger State Police Command has arrested a notorious bandit, Umar Aliyu, a.k.a Babuga Datijo in Magama Local Government Area of the state. 

The State Commissioner of Police, CP Shawulu Ebenezer Danmamman, paraded the suspect alongside four of his suspected informants, at the command headquarters on Wednesday, December 20, 2023.

According to the CP, the sum of N5m, three ATM cards, driver’s licence, four mobile phones, three locally fabricated AK-47 rifles and two Toyota Corolla vehicles were recovered from Datijo. 

Danmamman stated that the notorious bandit was arrested on November 24, 2023, based on credible information by operatives attached to the Nasko Division in Magama. 

The CP disclosed that as a result of Datijo’s arrest, his gang members attempted to attack Nasko Division in order to free him. 

However, unknown to the attackers, the suspect had been moved to State Police Headquarters in Minna. 

“On 24/11/2023 at about 1300hrs, based on credible information received that one suspected kidnapper by name Umar Aliyu (a.k.a Babuga Datijo) 37yrs ‘m’ of Kwali, FCT Abuja was sighted driving a Toyota Corolla vehicle with Reg. No. KTU-906-HM along Salka-Raba village, Magama LGA. The Police operatives attached to Nasko Division mobilized to the area and arrested the suspect,” the CP stated.

“In the course of preliminary investigation, a sum of five million, one hundred and twenty thousand naira, three ATM cards, three National Identity cards, two other Identity cards, one Drivers’ Licence and four handsets were recovered from the suspect. 

“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to kidnapping activities in Shagamu expressway Ogun State, Tambuwal Sokoto State, Alieru Kebbi State and Niger State, while the money recovered was his share from a ransom collected from kidnapping of a victim in Nasko.

“The suspect confessed that he belonged to one Poyi’s group of bandits after the death of his members at Shagamu, while he mentioned other members of the gang as Maidabo and Shaibu Haruna (a.k.a Felalu) ‘m’ of Garatu and equally provided their phone numbers to the Police.

“Surprisingly as a result of his arrest, his gang members attempted to attack Nasko Division on 27/11/2023 at about 0030hrs, believing that the suspect was detained in the Division in order to free him, while he had been moved to State Police Headquarters in Minna. However, the Police repelled the attack.

“In a follow up investigation to the attack with the aid of Technical Intelligence one Motse Mohammed 47yrs and Aliya Mohammed 48yrs both ‘m’ of Salka Magama LGA were arrested for having contacted the bandits and acted as informants before the attack. It was also established that a sum of ten thousand naira was sent to the two informants by the bandits through one POS point in Salka.

“In a further effort to track the said Maidabo and Shaibu Haruna, a phone number was discovered in Kontagora suspected to be bandit’s informant on surveillance, which led to the arrest of one Zubaida Sanusi 18yrs, a student of School of Health Technology Kontagora. 

“The phone number of Shaibu Haruna was found in her phone and saved as Kudi-banza (illegal money), while she confessed that she was introduced to the said Shaibu by a woman known as Aisha Mohammed and that whenever Shaibu is around he spends a lot of money on her with sexual satisfaction.

“In the process of tracking Maidabo, one Alh. Bello Fari was equally trailed to have a link with Maidabo. He was arrested within Mokwa-Ibbi area through an informant. 

“It was discovered that the suspect does not have any means of livelihood, and he initially denied knowing Maidabo but he later said Maidabo was his friend who he knows as a bandit. However, he is assisting the Police in our investigation.”