The Kogi State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of a police inspector, Aminu Mohammed, over the robbery of a residence of those around his duty station, The ‘C’ Division, in Lokoja, the state capital.
Our correspondent gathered that nemesis caught up with the officer on Sunday after a robbery incident which further checks revealed he had been involved in several similar cases in the past.
The Public Relations Officer of the state police command, SP William Aya, told journalists on Tuesday in Lokoja that “luck ran out of him this time following the escapades of a notorious gang of armed robbers who specialised in robbing houses of household items and cars.”
“The car was found in the workshop of the policeman’s panel beater, Arome Moses, who was already working on changing the car’s colour at Ochadamu near Anyigba in the eastern part of the state.
Those who knew the vehicle and were aware of the robbery incident that occurred in the owner’s house on June 14, 2024, quickly raised the alarm upon sighting the car.
Our correspondent gathered that the car’s number plate had already been changed to an Abuja number just as a car dealer’s receipt, backdated to 2020, was presented by the officer as his evidence of purchasing it.
It was also discovered that his panel beater had primed the car preparatory to changing its colour before the alarm was raised.
After raising the alarm, PUNCH Metro gathered that policemen of the Quick Response Unit attached to the Police Area Command, Idah, were quickly invited and the panel beater was apprehended.
Upon reaching the ‘A’ Division in Lokoja, where the QRU took the apprehended panel beater, it was found that the criminals who committed the robbery had already been arrested for the commission of another crime.
One of the members of the gang of armed robbers, who had also been on police wanted list for other crimes, confessed to the commission of the robbery and named the police officer as the mastermind.
He confessed that they were contracted to rob the house of the owner of the car for the sole aim of getting the car for him.
Other sources from the police officer’s village, Akpakidigbo, revealed that he had brought an uncountable number of cars to his palatial mansion in the past thereby raising suspicions over his source of income and the conclusion that he had been thriving on proceeds of crime.
Our correspondent learnt that the community was waiting to see the outcome of the matter given that the state government had been assuring the residents of providing adequate security for the state.
Similarly, a police source told our correspondent that the Commissioner of Police, Bertrand Onuoha, had personally picked interest in the matter having earlier vowed not to condone any act that would tarnish the image of the force.
Ayah said the police officer had been arrested and already in detention adding that the CP had ordered a thorough investigation before the next line of action could be taken over the alleged misconduct.
