According to a statement issued by the State Commander, Soji Ganzallo, through the office of the Director of Information and Public Relations, Assistant Commander Moruf Yusuf, the suspects – Mansirina Usman (27), Janadu Ahyarn (20), and Husseni Abdullahi (20) – were arrested on Thursday, around 7pm.

Ganzallo said the arrest was made possible by the corps’ surveillance team, who acted on a tip-off that the stolen cables were being sold in the area.

“Before the arrest, information reached the corps that unknown thieves had vandalised and stolen transformer armoured cables worth N9.8m. “The Area Commander, Assistant Commander Adeosun Adeniyi, and his team were tasked with bringing the perpetrators to justice within 48 hours,” the statement read.

Ganzallo explained that the suspects confessed to buying the stolen cables from Mustapha and one other person identified as Minister, who are currently at large.

“Usman bought 30kg of cable for N300,000, Ahyarn bought 25kg for N250,000, and Abdullahi bought 20kg for N200,000.

“The suspects had in their possession four off-cut armoured cables, N18,850 in cash, three Android phones, two wristwatches, and two unmarked TVS motorcycles,” it was added.

The three suspects and the items recovered have been transferred to the Nigeria Police Force, Agbara Divisional Headquarters for further investigation and likely prosecution.

Ganzallo commended the surveillance team for their swift action and reiterated the cops’ commitment to combating criminal activities in the state.