The Nigeria Police Force on Wednesday paraded 81 suspects arrested between April and May 2021.

A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, noted that the suspects were arrested for various crimes including kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery, illicit possession of firearms, illegal manufacturing and distribution of number plates.

According to the force spokesman, some of the items recovered from the suspects include 45 assorted riffles, including 17 AK-47, 20 locally made AK-47, and one GPLG.

Mr. Mba assured that the current security challenges facing the country will bring out the best in the force.

Buhari Talks Tough

President Buhari receives a briefing from the Chairman and Members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the State House on June 1, 2021. Bayo Omoboriowo/State House

In recent years, banditry and kidnapping have become incessant in many parts of the country, raising concerns among Nigerians.

The mass abduction of students, mostly in the northern part of Nigeria, has also gained traction in the nation.

In spite of repeated assurances from the federal government and the country’s security agencies, attacks on police formations and offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have also become commonplace in the southeast region, sparking fears that the development may affect the body’s preparations for the 2023 polls.

Critics believe the government has not done enough to tame the rising wave of insecurity in the country but President Muhammadu Buhari, irked by the widespread level of criminality in Africa’s most populous nation, issued a stern warning to those fanning the embers of destruction.

During a meeting with the Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu in Abuja on Thursday, the Nigerian leader accused those who “want this administration to fail” of responsibility for the attacks, issuing a stern warning to them.

“Insecurity in Nigeria is now mentioned all over the world. All the people who want power, whoever they are, you wonder what they really want,” the President said after he received a briefing from the INEC boss following a series of attacks on facilities of the electoral body around the country.

“Whoever wants the destruction of the system will soon have the shock of their lives. We’ve given them enough time.” (Channels TV)

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