Four dismissed soldiers have been arrested for the alleged murder of an operative of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Niger State.
The spokesman of the Niger State Police Command, Waisu Abiodun, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria.
Abiodun, a Superintendent of Police, told NAN on Saturday that the incident happened on March 9, 2024 around Ramat Junction in Bida Local Government Area.
He said: “On March 9, at about 6:20pm, a team of NDLEA officers were on stop and search at Ramat Junction, Bida when two suspected soldiers, not in uniform, on a motorcycle, were intercepted.
“The team requested for their identifications, which the suspected soldiers did not provide a proper means of identification and nothing incriminating was found on them.
“In the course of the search, there was an altercation, after which the suspects left the scene, returned with additional men reinforced to the scene and allegedly attacked the NDLEA officers.”
Abiodun said during the fight, an officer of the NDLEA, Kingsley Chimetalo, was stabbed at the back with a Jack knife by one of the suspects and his rifle taken away.
The spokesman said that the injured officer was taken to the Federal Medical Centre in Bida, where he was later confirmed dead by a doctor.
He said the police operatives attached to ‘A’ Division Bida immediately swung into investigation and the deceased rifle was recovered in a nearby bush, where it was dumped, without a magazine.
Abioudn said the investigation was conducted in collaboration with 18 Brigade, Nigeria Army Bida that led to the identification of six soldiers that were court martialed and dismissed, while two of them escaped.
He listed the names of the suspects as Sani Munzani and Abubakar Auwalu from Kano State, Abubakar Sani from Kebbi State and Muazu Hassan from Edo State.
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He said the suspects were handed over to the police on Monday for prosecution, with Sani Munzani confessing to stabbing the deceased NDLEA operative.
Abiodun said the suspects were under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Minna and would be charged to court for prosecution as soon as the investigation was concluded.