from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – NIGERIAN police have reported the arrest of suspected political thugs terrorising communities in the volatile northeast of the country.
Arrested in the state of Bauchi, the suspects, including teenagers, are said to be part of the feared youth gang known as the Yan Sara Suka.
Bauchi police named the youths, all male, as Imrana Abbas (aged 19), Hassan Alhassan (18), Sani Mohammed (27), Unguwar Kur Suleiman Mohammed (19), Dutsen Tanshi Ibrahim Muhammed (18) and Babangida Salisu (20), from the Anguwar Kur and Dutsen Tanshi areas of the state.
“An effort has been intensified to arrest their fleeing accomplices,” said Superintendent Ahmed Mohammed Wakil, Bauchi police spokesperson said.
The arrest followed intelligence information that youths had converged in numbers and invaded the Bauchi metro with dangerous weapons unleashing terror on citizens and looting shops.
“On receiving the information, a team of detectives attached to Area Command Metro swiftly swung into action and successfully arrested the six suspected notorious thugs,” Wakil said.
Police recovered machetes and knives.
Suspected stolen items recovered include mobile phones and cash.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest country by population, estimated to be as large as 219 million, is preparing for elections in February.
Like previous polls, preparations have been marred by violence.
It appears street gangs like the Yan Sara Suka, most of them comprising school dropouts and drug addicts, are taking advantage of the pre-election volatility.
– CAJ News