The Yobe State Police Command has arrested five suspects in connection with alleged vandalism of electricity infrastructure and fraudulent acquisition of food items in Fika, Tarmuwa and Damaturu.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Dungus Abdulkarim, disclosed this in a statement issued in Damaturu.
Abdulkarim said operatives of the ‘A’ Division, Damaturu, arrested two suspects over an alleged fraud involving the acquisition of food items from a shop along the Ajari-Gashua Road in the state capital.
He said the incident occurred on July 31, when an accomplice allegedly impersonated the complainant through a telephone call and fraudulently obtained one carton of OBA spaghetti and two half bags of parboiled rice.
According to him, the suspects, who reside in Zanna Zakarya Housing Estate and Waziri Ibrahim Housing Estate, both in Damaturu, were arrested after detectives launched a discreet investigation following a report of the incident.
He said the suspects confessed to the offence during interrogation, while the stolen food items were recovered and registered as exhibits.
Abdulkarim said investigation was ongoing with a view to prosecuting the suspects.
In a separate development, the police spokesman said the Fika Divisional Police Headquarters received a distress report at about 8 a.m. on Thursday that unidentified persons had vandalised a community transformer and stolen its power cable.
He said police operatives, working with members of the community and local vigilantes, immediately mobilised and tracked down a 23-year-old suspect who was allegedly found in possession of the stolen transformer cable.
“The suspect confessed to the offence during interrogation, while two additional suspects were subsequently arrested in connection with the crime,” Abdulkarim said.
He added that the stolen power cable was recovered as an exhibit, while investigation was continuing to determine the full extent of the alleged criminal network and apprehend other suspects.
Meanwhile, the command is also investigating a case of causing grievous hurt reported at the Tarmuwa Divisional Police Headquarters.
Abdulkarim said preliminary investigation indicated that the incident followed an allegation that a 22-year-old man discovered his wife in a compromising situation with another man near her parents’ residence in Danewa-Biriri Village, Tarmuwa Local Government Area.
He said the suspect allegedly shot the other man with a bow and arrow during the ensuing altercation, leaving him seriously injured.
According to the police spokesman, the victim was receiving treatment at the Police Hospital in Damaturu, while the suspect had been arrested.
He said investigation was ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident, after which appropriate legal action would be taken.
The Commissioner of Police, Usman Kanfani Jibrin, urged residents to remain law-abiding and refrain from taking the law into their own hands.