Police Arrest ‘Killer of Gombe Traditional Ruler’

The police in Gombe State said it has arrested the suspected killer of a ward head in Baganje village of Shomgom Local Government Area of the state.

A statement issued by the state Command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Obed Mary Malum, said the suspect, one Shedrack Aliyu, was alleged to have conspired with some other persons who are still at large, on July 17, 2018, and killed one Saleh Galadima Wange, 60, the ward head of Galdimaro area of Baganje district.

DSP Malum said based on credible information, ‘‘the suspect was traced and subsequently arrested by the police on August 7 at Kurmi Local Government Area of Taraba State, where he and his accomplice fled after killing the ward head’’.

The PPRO added that police investigation revealed that the suspect and his accomplice were hired by one Anthony Makeri of the same village who allegedly supplied them with the arms and ammunition they used in killing the deceased.

According to the statement, Makeri promised to pay the suspects N150, 000 to kill the ward head, but that he reneged on the deal after they completed the task.

Malum added that the alleged mastermind of the killing, Makeri, was also arrested by the police and would be charged to the court alongside the suspects.

In another development, police in the state arrested 12 persons over armed robbery.

The state Commissioner of Police, Shina Tairu Olukolu, told newsmen that the suspects were arrested based on the synergy between the police and other security agencies.

He said the suspects; one Abdullahi Usman, Abdullahi Mohammed, Adamu Haruna, Mubaraq Suleiman, and Kabiru Isah, all of Bogo quarters of Gombe metropolis, on July 7, 2018, criminally conspired, armed with dangerous weapons and attacked one Tabitha Isah, of Orji quarters.

The commissioner said the suspects disguised as passengers in a tricycle and carried the victim under the pretence of conveying her to her house, but that along the way, they brought out the weapons and robbed her of her mobile phones and money.

He added that cutlasses, axes and phones were recovered from the suspects, who are said to have confessed to their crimes.

Olukolu added that the police also arrested Gambo Umar and Mai Anguwa Buba. He said the duo, on August 1, 2018, attempted to engage in armed robbery and culpable homicide.

According to the police, the duo went to Barambu village of Akko Local Government Area and attacked one Jungudo Kawuwa with intend to rob him and as a result, the victim sustained various degrees of injuries and was rushed to a hospital for treatment.

Also, the police arrested four other suspects; Usman Mohammed, Yusha’u Mu’azu, Mustapha Abubakar and Mohammed, who specialize in fabricating keys to steal motorcycles and sell same to unsuspecting buyers using fake receipts.

According to the police commissioner, a fabricated key, four motorcycles and two fake receipts booklets were recovered from the suspects.

Furthermore, the command paraded a suspected burglar, one Muktar Usman, who broke into the house of one Ibrahim Haruna of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, and carted away six mobile phones, a laptop, two phone charges and a power bank.

The police said all the suspects have confessed to the crimes and would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.