14th May, 2021
By Abankula
Police in Zamfara State have arrested a Nigerien gunrunner, who had sold about 450 AK 47 rifles to bandits and terrorists on the rampage in Nigeria.
The armourer identified as Shehu Ali Kachalla confessed that he had been in the business for more than three years, selling guns to different criminal gangs across the north-west region.
Kachalla was paraded on Friday, along with four other confessed kidnappers, by Police Public Relations Officer in Zamfara, Shehu Mohammed, at the Police Headquarters in Gusau, the state capital.
All the five suspects were involved in banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and illegal possession of firearms, reports Channels TV
Shehu Mohammed explained that the arrest of the suspects was a result of the collaboration between the police and the state leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).
Mohammed said those arrested were said to have been terrorising various communities in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina States in the North West, and Niger State in the north-central part of the country.
Items recovered from the suspects included four AK-49 rifles, nine magazines, 960 live ammunition, and assorted charms.
The suspects were arrested through the efforts of the Federal Intelligence Investigation Bureau and Special Tactical Squad deployed by the Inspector General of Police to rid Zamfara and the north-west region of crime.
They were alleged to have kidnapped the younger brother of one Dr Dauda Lawal and confessed that they collected N20 million ransom, as well as received N10 million ransom for the abduction of the daughter of one Engineer Yahaya Maradun.
One of the suspects, Abubakar Ali, from Niger State, said he was operating within Kagarko and Chikun Local Government Areas of Kaduna State.
He also confessed that he had been in the criminal business for three years and has killed five of his victims who could not afford to pay ransom.