OVER AN ALLEGED ARMED ROBBERY IN RIVERS, FOUR SOLDIERS AND OTHERS WERE ARRESTED.

Babatunji Wusu –

Four soldiers have been arrested by the Nigeria Police Force, Rivers State Command, on suspicion of participating in an armed robbery.

The soldiers were a part of the 13 people whom state police agents had just taken into custody.

Charges of armed robbery, food truck hijacking, and transferring the goods to different sites were brought against the troops, who included an officer from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) among others.

In a statement provided to reporters on Monday, the state’s police spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, detailed the arrests and said they came about as a result of a thorough investigation that started with the capture of suspects connected to a break-in at a private warehouse in Ohio/Akpor LGA’s Elimgbu community.

A Nigerian Army corporal stationed in Delta State and an NSCDC officer stationed in Kabba, Kogi State, were two of the first suspects.

The jailed security officers acknowledged abandoning their positions to engage in illegal activity in Rivers State.

Subsequent investigations turned up evidence of a bigger criminal network involved in hijacking, armed robbery, and goods diversion.

POP cement, imported clothes, fertilizers, and trailers transporting other goods were allegedly seized by the groups.

The police claimed to have found the stolen items as well as the white Toyota Hilux that the group had used for operations.

Iringe-Koko further stated that the four soldiers who were implicated were released from the Nigerian Army and turned over to the police so that they might face charges.