The operatives of the Kaduna State Police Command have killed 4 suspected bandits and recovered firearms and ammunition.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Mohammad Jalige, made the disclosure via a statement issued on Thursday.

Jalige said the successful operation was sequel to the command’s sustained onslaught against banditry and other criminal elements in the Kaduna State.

The police spokesperson stated: “The operatives of the Special Tactical Squad, Force Headquarters, Abuja (STS), in conjunction with Operation Yaki, Kaduna State Command, on June 15, at about 06:50hrs, while on the trail of suspected bandits intercepted their target along Saminaka-Jos expressway.

“The suspects were in a blue colored Sharon vehicle driven by one of the suspects, a 31-year-old man from Vom town in Jos South Local Government Area (LGA), Plateau State.

“The suspected bandits, on sensing an unavoidable danger, stopped while on their way to deliver some dangerous weapons to their cohorts.

“They immediately engaged the operatives firing sporadically. However, the operatives with tactical precision were able to terminally injure four suspects.

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“The injured suspects were evacuated to Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna, where they were pronounced dead by a medical doctor.”

Jalige further stated that the encounter lasted for about 30 minutes, adding that the fire power of the police forced the assailants to retreat into the forest with bullet wounds.

He added that one Ak49 rifle loaded with six rounds of live ammunition, one Ak47 rifle, one empty magazine, 134 rounds of different calibers of live ammunition and the bandits’s operational vehicle were recovered.

The police spokesman further disclosed that the operation led to the arrest of a female accomplice.

He said that the female accomplice in the course of investigation confessed to be supplying arms and ammunition to bandits within Kaduna State.

Jalige said discreet investigation into the case has been instituted with a view to unravelling the identities of other members of the criminal gang.

He said police are also investigating the source of the suspects’ dangerous weapons in order to avert future occurrences and make the criminals to face the full wrath of the law.

He added that the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Yekinin Ayoku, applauded “this clinically executed intelligence-led tactical operation that has occasioned this breakthrough.”

Jalige assured the people of the state that the command would be unrelenting under the direction of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba.

The police spokesperson stated that the command would also be relentless with the robust support from the state government and the active synergy with other security agencies in the fight against crime.

The Star