The Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Lugard, has arrested four suspects for allegedly stealing metallurgical coal in Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State.
Parading the suspects in Lokoja, the Commander, NNS Luguard, Moses Epelle, told journalists that the suspects were arrested on April 4, 2024, after a tip off that some unknown persons were stealing metallurgical coal near the company jetty.
“The four suspects gained access to the jetty through the water way on a wooden boat which was loaded with about 400 bags of the materials. They wanted to convey this materials to an unidentified destination.
“The gallant effort of officers of the Nigeria Navy on the water way in conjunction with the local vigilantes led to the arrest of the four suspects namely Abdulrazak Danjuma, Idris Abdullahi, Suleiman Ibrahim and Musa Muhammed,” he stated.
Epelle charged the management of Ajaokuta Steel Company to beef up the security architecture of the complex as the Nigerian Navy will not rest on it oars in curbing the activities of miscreants along the waterways of Kogi State.
According to Epelle, the four suspects will be handed over to the police for prosecution.
Meanwhile, the Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, has applauded the efforts of the Nigerian Navy in combating activities of criminal elements in the state.
Represented by his Special Adviser on Media, Ismaila Isah, Ododo said the commitment of personnel of the Navy has led to improved security on the waterways and across the state with several arrests of criminals.
He also commended the synergy among the Navy, police and other security agencies in the state.
He restated his administration’s zero tolerance for criminal activities, noting that government will continue to make Kogi uninhabitable for miscreants who may wish to test the resolve of his administration against crime.
He urged security agencies in the state to sustain the aggressive onslaught against criminal elements in the state and urged citizens to be law abiding and to provide credible information to law enforcement agencies in the state.
The Governor also witnessed the handover of a suspected drug peddler arrested with substances suspected to be marijuana to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the NNS Lugard Base in Banda near Lokoja.