TheCable

The Nigerian army on Wednesday said it had arrested 17 suspected criminals, including two Boko Haram suspects in Okene, Kogi state.

Henry Ayamasaowea, commander, command army records, presented the suspects to reporters in Lokoja, the state capital, on Wednesday.

Ayamasaowea said 10 AK47 rifles, locally made guns, 12 masks of different sizes, ammunition, dagger, pump action guns, grenades and five explosive devices were among items recovered from them.

According to him, the Army and other security agencies have in the past three weeks been working round the clock to check kidnapping and other violent crimes in the area.

He said those arrested also included herdsmen who had been terrorising the state, saying that some of the suspects might have invaded the state from Sambisa forest.

“Boko Haram members have dispersed and many of them have made their way to Kogi. We took the security situation very serious and that is why we went after them,” he said.

Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi, who was present at the occasion, said government would not condone criminal activities in the state.

“We are after them and we have started getting them. We will not condone any act of criminality whether politically motivated or criminally motivated,” he said.

“We will never relent in our efforts to get to them wherever they are hiding; and parents should call their wards to order.

“This state has suffered a lot and we are ready to arrest and prosecute anybody who indulges in criminal activities in the state.”

He appealed to the people of the state to assist security agencies with useful information that could lead to the arrest of criminals.

“We have law against terrorism and kidnapping in Kogi and we must enforce it. The houses where the criminals were arrested will be demolished,” he said.