Security operatives arrest six criminals, launch manhunt for gunrunner

Combined security operatives have arrested six suspected criminals in Anambra State, Nigeria’s South-east.

Tochukwu Ikenga, the police spokesperson in the state, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said the suspects were arrested during separate operations by the joint security team comprising police and vigilante operatives.

The spokesperson said two of the suspects – Chinedu Anagor, 25, and Rapuluchukwu Anagor, 23 – were arrested on Monday at Ifite village, Oko, a community in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state.

He said the suspects confessed to being members of beggars’ confraternity and also identified their armourer simply as ‘kiss me.’

One English Beretta pistol was recovered from the suspects, according to the police.

Mr Ikenga said police operatives have launched a manhunt for the gunrunner linked to the suspects’ criminal activities.

More arrests

Mr Ikenga said the operatives also arrested four individuals who were sighted vandalising electrical wires at the permanent site of the Federal Polytechnic Oko in Anambra State.

The spokesperson said the arrest followed receipt of a tip-off about the suspects’ activities.

He identified the suspects as Chukwuka Usulor, Chukwuemeka Michael, Ikenna Oke and Ebuka Okeke.

“The operatives recovered some assorted quantities of cable wires,” he said.

The police assured of their continued commitment in fighting criminality in the state.

Prohibited in Nigeria

Cultism is outlawed in Nigeria.

However, the laws vary state by state. In Anambra State, for instance, cultism is outlawed in Anambra State Secret Cult and Similar Activities Prohibition Law, 2024.

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The law provides that any person who is a member of a secret cult commits an offence whether or not in possession of an offensive weapon, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life or a minimum of 21 years imprisonment without an option of fine.

Several persons have been convicted in Nigeria for offences of illegal possession of firearms and cultism across Nigeria.

In July 2021, a Magistrate Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, sentenced a student of Kogi State Polytechnic, Shehu Mohammed, to eight years’ imprisonment for illegal possession of a firearm and cultism.