No fewer than 93 suspected political thugs have been arrested by the Kano State Police Command for various offences such as public disturbance among others.
Nigeriacrime.com gathered that the arrest was made sequel to the directive of the Inspector–General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, on ensuring peaceful election processes.
Confirming the arrest, the spokesperson of the command, SP Abdullahi Haruna said 53 of the suspects were arrested during the political campaign of one of the Presidential candidates while the remaining 40 others were arrested during a raid of various hideouts.
SP Haruna said the persons were arrested in its bid to rid Kano State of all forms of crimes and criminality, especially the menace of Political Thuggery (Daba) during political campaigns.
According to him, “In line with the directives of the Inspector–General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, on ensuring peaceful election processes, and the Command’s efforts to rid Kano State of all forms of crimes and criminality, especially the menace of Political Thuggery (Daba) during political campaigns, clearance operations conducted during a political activity at Sani Abacha Stadium Kano on 09/02/2023 led to the arrest of Fifty-Three (53) suspected thugs. Two(2) Locally Made Guns, Thirty-Two (32) Knives, One (1) Axe, Two (2) Catapults, a bunch of charms, etc were recovered from them.
“Similarly, another clearance operation conducted by a team of Operation Restore Peace led by CSP Bashir Musa Gwadabe, Officer in Charge of Anti-Daba Squad led to the arrest of Forty suspected thugs.
“62 Parcels of dried leaves suspected to be Indian Hemp, 60 bottles of suspected codeine syrup, 28 knives, 4 motorcycles and 3 sewing machines were recovered from them. All the suspects will be charged to court for prosecution.
“Before these clearance operations, Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) meeting was reconvened and members in the meeting assesses the level of preparedness ahead of the coming General Elections. The Kano State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ambassador Zango Abdu commended the security agencies for a successful outing during the concluded mock accreditation exercise, whereas the co-chair of the committee, CP Mamman Dauda, stressed that security machineries have been put in place to ensure free, fair, credible, transparent and successful 2023 General Elections.
“The Commissioner of Police, Kano State Command, CP Mamman Dauda, appreciates the good people of the State, other Security Agencies, the Media, Vigilante Groups, and our Community Policing Stakeholders for their prayers, support, encouragement and cooperation.
“Currently, with a low crime rate, and a serene and peaceful atmosphere in the State, the Command will continue to remain steadfast in safeguarding life and property in the State,” the Command’s spokesperson, SP Haruna however stated