The Niger State Police Command has arrested three vigilantes in connection with the murder of a 30-year-old man, Mohammed Bello, in Rijau Local Government Area.
The State Commissioner of Police, CP Shawulu E. Danmamman, revealed this during a press briefing at the police headquarters in Minna on Monday, January 27, 2025.
According to the CP, the victim was last seen alive on December 8, 2024, at a vigilante checkpoint in Tunga-Galadima village. He was heading to Rijau on his motorcycle with about N940,000 in his possession.
The victim’s body was discovered on January 13, 2025, in a bush near the vigilante checkpoint.
“On January 16, 2025, police operatives from the Kontagora Area Command arrested three suspects: Habibu Usman, 35; Tanko Abara, 25; and Maigero Abdullahi, 26, all from Tunga-Galadima village near Rijau,” CP Danmamman reported.
The suspects were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Mohammed Bello, a resident of Awala village, Rijau LGA.
It was reported that on December 8, 2024, around 1 p.m., the victim was at the vigilante checkpoint in Tunga-Galadima village, traveling from Kontagora to Rijau on his Bajaj motorcycle, carrying about N940,000. He was never seen again until his body was recovered in January 2025.
The three vigilantes were strongly suspected, and Habibu Usman confessed that another suspect, Lawal, who is currently at large, had previously shot and killed an innocent person at the checkpoint.
The investigation is ongoing, and efforts are being made to apprehend additional suspects, including Lawal, Jibrin, and Bako.
