The Nigeria Police Force on Tuesday said policemen deployed across the country had arrested over 2,398 suspects in recent months.
A breakdown of this showed that 259 were arrested for armed robbery, 186 suspected kidnappers, and 1,575 individuals committed various other crimes.
The Force Spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi disclosed this while parading suspects recently arrested by personnel of the Intelligence Response Team.
He said, “Over the last month, the Nigeria Police Force has made remarkable achievements in the fight against crime and criminality, including violent crimes, recording the arrest of 295 armed robbery suspects, 186 kidnappers, 271 murder/homicide suspects, and 71 suspects for the unlawful possession of firearms.
“The Force also arrested 199 suspects for sexual-related offences, 143 suspects arrested for cultism, and 1,575 suspects arrested for other various crimes. The total number of firearms recovered stands at 185, with a total number of 4087 ammunition of various calibres recovered, 111 vehicles recovered and 129 rescued kidnapped victims.”
He also said an Abuja-based Disc Jockey, Raymond Terver, popularly known as DJ Ice, had been arrested by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team for allegedly purchasing expensive drinks and other goods using fake alerts.
According to him, the suspect sold the drinks and other goods through intermediaries to conceal his identity.
Adejobi said DJ Ice ran out of luck after he purchased drinks from a hotel in August using a fake alert.
Adejobi added that the suspect who started the crime in June 2024 made over N8m from the crime, which he used to purchase DJ equipment.
Adejobi said, “The suspect was arrested in August 2024 for purchasing goods using fake payment alerts. He admitted to starting this scheme in June 2024, ordering expensive drinks, particularly Hennessy XO, from the ‘For You’ Hotel and Restaurant in Jabi, Abuja.
“He would send fake payment receipts via WhatsApp, arrange for a dispatch rider to collect the drinks, and then send them through intermediaries to conceal his identity. Terver revealed he generated the fake alerts using the Pint app on his computer.
‘The restaurant noticed discrepancies in their inventory and reported the issue to the IRT, which led to his arrest. After thorough investigation, he has confessed to making over N8m from this fraud, which he used to buy DJ equipment.”
Addressing journalists, DJ Ice said he took to crime because of the hardship in the country.
He said, “The reason I decided to go this line is because of hardship.
I was eager to make money and get DJ equipment for myself. I have been in my line of business for up to 15 years. And all this while, I have been looking for ways to get money, to get equipment.
I bought them for about N5m. I had not started using the equipment before I was arrested. I bought it in August.
I feel very sorry for myself.“
Narrating how he perpetrated the crime, he said, “I went through Google, and I found this restaurant, and I chatted them up, and then if they had so-so-so goods, liquor in particular, they said yes, and then I clicked another, fabricated a receipt to my computer on the Pint app, and then sent it to them, a confirmed payment, and sent them, asked if I would come over to pick it up, it would be delivered.
“I said okay, I would send a dispatch rider to get it, and they said okay. I sent the dispatch rider. They gave him the goods, and that is how I did it.“
Also paraded was a suspect accused of killing a police officer in Ogun State, Kayode Johnson, also known as Baddoo.
Adejobi said the suspect was arrested on June 12, 2024.
He said, “The suspect confessed to being the gang leader to a band of armed robbers who operated in the Ikorodu /Ijebu-Ode area. He stated that they made away with the policeman’s AK47 rifle after killing him. The said AK47 rifle was later recovered from one of the gang members by the Lagos State Police Command.
Upon his arrest, two locally made pistols, four live cartridges and one cutter were recovered.”
