A wanted banditry suspect, Salisu Mohammed, alias Dogo Saleh, has been reportedly gunned down during a gun battle with the anti-kidnap officers of the FCT police command.
Abuja Metro learnt that he was killed at Gidan-Abe forest, which borders Bwari Area Council.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, who disclosed this to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, said the command recorded the feat acting on intelligence regarding the movement of bandits into the FCT through the borders of Bwari and Kaduna in the early hours of Tuesday.
He said the operation, which was led by the Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-kidnapping unit, Mustapha Muhammed, blocked the bandits’ access routes into Bwari and engaged the notorious bandit in a gun battle, which, he said, led to his death.
He said the 21-year-old bandit from Baban Saural village, in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State, was identified as a hitman for bandit leaders operating in Rijana Forest, Kaduna State.
He added that the bandit had also been terrorising communities along major highways, kidnapping unsuspecting people and extorting huge ransoms.
“During the operation, some exhibits were recovered from him including an AK-49 rifle with two magazines, 60 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition and N3 million cash suspected to be proceeds from previous kidnappings,” he said.
He said further investigation revealed that the neutralised bandit was involved in several high-profile kidnappings, which, he said, included the kidnapping and killing of a security officer, including two individuals at Kyauta village in Chikun LGA of the state.
Disu added that the late bandit also led attacks on Kike and Bagada villages, in which a security officer’s wife was kidnapped and freed after payment of ransom.
The police commissioner said the operatives dislodged the bandits’ hideout during the gun duel, even as he said one inspector of the anti-kidnap unit of the command sustained minor injuries and had been treated.
Disu commended the officers involved in the operation for their tactical efficiency.
He assured residents that operations are ongoing to track and apprehend the fleeing gang members and dismantle all criminal networks operating within the FCT and Kaduna border communities.(Daily trust)
