The Zamfara State Police Command has arrested two suspects for allegedly extorting N5 million from the people of Yar-Katsina village to facilitate the deployment of security personnel to the community.
This was contained in a statement in Gusau on Thursday by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Muhammad Shehu.
He said that one of the suspects hailed from Jangebe village in Talata Mafara Local Government Area, while the other was from Yardole in Gusau LGA.
Shehu said: “The arrest of the suspects was as a result of complaints received from members of the community against the principal suspect, Lawali Musa.
“Police investigation revealed that the principal suspect confessed to have collected the sum of N5 million from the community in the name of assisting them to have security agencies deployed to their community.
“The second suspect, Jamilu Isah, confessed that the sum of N800,000 out of the N5 million collected was deposited into his account.”
The Police Public Relations Officer said the suspects would be charged to court after full investigation.
The command reiterated that the deployment of security operatives to villages and communities is purely free of charge.
It, therefore, appealed to people of the state to report any person or group demanding money from them to secure the deployment of security operatives to their areas.
Shehu added: “You can reach out to the police or any relevant authority regarding the general security of your respective areas.
“Any suspect should also be reported to the police or any security agency for appropriate action.”