A combined team of police personnel attached to the Aba Area Command of Nigerian Police Force (NPF) have reportedly arrested over 50 persons suspected to be members of kidnapping and armed robbery gangs operating in the commercial hub of the state and its environs.
The raid, The Nation gathered took place at Works by Railway, off Aba-Owerri Expressway road in the early hours of Tuesday (yesterday) morning at about 2:30am.
Sources within the NPF Aba Area Command who spoke on the condition of anonymity claimed that the police decided to embark on the operation after intelligence has it that hoodlums had taken over the area and converted it to their safe haven.
“Police got intelligence that hoodlums had taken over the area, converted it to their safe haven where they sell narcotics and other forms of hard drugs, committing all manner of indecent assault/harassment and sexual offences against women especially young girls, cultism and other sundry offences. So after analyzing the situation, the Area Commander (ACP Peter Wagabra), called in about six patrol teams to raid the area which resulted to the success recorded in the operation,” a source stated.
Wagbara in a chat with our reporter in his office corroborated the account of the arrest of the suspects and stated that the suspects were currently being profiled for proper identification.
According to Aba Police Chief, some of the suspects identified as students of the Abia State Polytechnic, Aba and other residents of the area found to be innocent had been handed over to the school authority and families respectively while those with questionable character would be properly profiled and may face subsequent prosecution if need be.
Assuring that the police were working round the clock to ensure that residents of Aba sleep with their two eyes closed, ACP Wagabra however urged members of the public not to hesitate in reporting activities of suspicious persons and activities of hoodlums in their localities as a way of complimenting the efforts of police in making the environment safe for human habitation and conduct of business and economic activities.
“Aba is a place where people from various parts of the country converge to engage in one economic activity or the other and it is the job of police and other security agencies in the state to ensure that there is peace and security in Aba and its environs. Police will not fold its arms and watch unscrupulous elements come to Aba to truncate the existing peace in Aba. We don’t want to be caught unawares and I want to use this opportunity to warn those who think that they will come to Aba to get involved in any form of crime to have rethink and engage in meaningful activities because we will not give them the opportunity to do so,” Wagbara stated.