Police nab 230 robbery, kidnap suspects, secure 128 convictions from 388 cases

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command yesterday said about 388 suspects were arraigned for various criminal offences in 2024, out of which 128 were convicted.

A spokesperson for the command, SP Josephine Adeh, who disclosed this in a statement, explained that out of 38 suspects arraigned for kidnapping, 21 of them were convicted. She also noted that 11 convictions were secured out of 16 “one-chance” robbery cases.

According to her, there were also 32 homicide cases in which the command recorded eight convictions; and 178 fraud cases where 58 convictions were obtained in addition to 19 cultism cases with 11 convictions. Adeh added that eight out of 26 suspects arraigned for burglary were convicted while 11 convictions were secured from the 21 car theft cases prosecuted by the command.

She also said 58 suspects were arraigned for misconduct without convictions. She stressed that the command recorded 268 reported armed robbery cases with 132 suspects arrested

” A total of 1,426 cases reported to the Command in 2024 under review led to the arrest of 1,077 suspects, while 104 reported cases of kidnapping led to the arrest of 216 suspects.

“Out of 263 “one chance” cases reported, 71 suspects were apprehended while 32 cybercrime cases were reported leading to the arrest of 15 suspects. This was in addition to 68 reported homicide cases with 78 arrests,” she added. Adeh further said that 68 kidnap and 19 “one chance” robbery victims were rescued during the year under review.

According to her, 376 firearms, including 13 AK-47 magazines and 187 rounds of live ammunition were recovered. She noted that N36.85 million was recovered from kidnap suspects and N68.55 million from armed robbery suspects, among other achievements.

ALSO, Enugu State Police Command said its operatives apprehended 230 robbery suspects and kidnappers in the state in 2024. The state Commissioner of Police, Kanayo Uzuegbu, made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Enugu.

Mr Uzuegbu said the number comprised 130 robbery suspects and 100 kidnappers. He said that the command also nabbed 55 murder suspects and 111 other suspects for unlawful possession of firearms.

According to the commissioner, 226 suspects involved in cultism and 450 others linked to various crimes such as burglary, stealing and fraud were also arrested in 2024.

“Furthermore, about 100 kidnapped or abducted victims were rescued. Items recovered included over 200 firearms, including 21 AK-47 rifles, one submachine gun, and one G-3 rifle; 1,863 rounds of ammunition; and 124 vehicles comprising cars, tricycles and motorcycles,” he said.