Minister places N20m bounty on 2 Abuja ‘criminals’ at large

By Stanley Onyekwere

FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, has announced a N20 million bounty on two suspected members of a notorious criminal gang allegedly terrorising Abuja residents.
Wike, who declared the bounty on the suspects, who are still on the run, dead or alive, as the police was on their trail.
He spoke yesterday during his maiden official visit FCT Police Command headquarters in FCT, where 15 arrested suspected kidnappers and one-chance robbers were paraded.
He said: “You said there are 2 criminals on the run? Let me put money on their heads. Wherever they are, send your men out there, I will give them N20 million.
“Go and fish them out, wherever they are. I want to see them dead or alive.”
The minister, who commended the commissioner and his men for the wonderful job, assured the command that he would do everything possible to provide the police with the needed equipment to fight crimes in the FCT.
“Let me assure the residents of FCT that with the support of President Bola Tinubu, we are fully prepared to take the war to the criminals.
“I trust the police and our confidence in them is getting stronger,” he added.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the FCT Commissioner of the Police , Benneth Igweh, who disclosed that the alleged criminals were arrested in the last two days, explained that men of the command attached to Mabushi Divisional Headquarters, arrested eight suspected armed robbers operating once chance vehicles to rob FCT residents.
According to him: “Acting on credible intelligence, the suspects who are responsible for several one chance activities in the past, were trailed to the Central Area in an attempt to rob some innocent residents and were arrested.
“The suspects confessed to using toy guns and knives to scare their victims to illegally obtain from them.”
He added that acting on credible intelligence, the operatives of Utako Divisional Headquarters along with the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the command on Feb. 13, arrested seven suspected kidnappers.
He explained that the suspects were arrested in Pyankasa, Tudun Wada and Ketti village, FCT, in connection to the kidnapping of 14 persons in the territory.
He said: “They are responsible for the kidnapping of 5 victims in Federal Mortgage Housing Estate, Kabusa, three people at Ketti village, and Fulani residents of Alhaji Sani.
“They are also responsible for the kidnap of a woman and her gate man in Kabusa Estate, one Mr Sunday Zakwai and four others and equally Killed the district head of the area.The criminals also kidnapped two staff at Defence Estate Kabusa.”
The commissioner said that 9 million cash, six AK 47 rifles, bulletproof vests and locally fabricated walkie talkie were recovered from the suspect.
Igweh assured that all the suspects would be charged to court soon.