The Yobe State Police Command has arrested a 19-year-old man, Dahiru Ali, for allegedly defiling multiple young girls in Potiskum Local Government Area of the state.

Ali, a resident of Hayin Kwari, was accused of sexually assaulting a three-year-old girl in Mutawassada ward of Potiskum.

According to the command’s spokesperson, SP Abdulkarim Dungus, investigations revealed that the suspect had previously committed a similar offence against another three-year-old girl in the same neighbourhood but in a different house.

Dungus disclosed yesterday in Damaturu that Ali, who works as a domestic helper, lured children with “sweets and milk” before taking them to secluded areas where he sexually assaulted them, a crime he has confessed to.

Beyond Ali’s arrest, the spokesperson added that four other suspects were apprehended during the week for various offences across the state.

“In Nguru town, operatives of the Divisional Police Headquarters arrested Jarma Hussaini Adam, 25, and Mohammed Abdulsalam, also known as Uzaifa, 16, both of Sabon Garin Kanuri,” Dungus said.

He explained that the arrests followed an assault on a police officer assigned to guard the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Nguru. He warned that any attempt to attack police personnel would not only be treated as a criminal offence but also as an assault on constituted authority.

In another operation, Dungus said police officers from the “A” Division Headquarters, Damaturu, apprehended 24-year-old Ahmadu of Dusuwa village on September 22, 2025, around 1:00 p.m. The arrest followed a distress call from a farmer who reported that a herder had led dozens of livestock into his farmland.

“Instead of removing the animals, Ahmadu threatened the farmer with a gun,” Dungus said, adding that a short firearm with live ammunition was recovered from the suspect.

He warned that the possession and use of firearms to threaten people is a criminal offence that carries severe legal consequences. (The Guardian, but headline rejigged)