Police Smash Robbery Syndicate, Arrest Suspected Killers Of Kogi Tricyclist

Kogi State Police Command has recorded a major breakthrough in its fight against violent crime with the arrest of suspected members of a criminal syndicate involved in culpable homicide and armed robbery.

The command disclosed that the operation also led to the recovery of stolen tricycles and motorcycles following a coordinated and intelligence-driven investigation.

According to a statement issued by the command’s spokesperson, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, the case began on March 18, 2026, when the command received a report of the disappearance of one Aminu Abubakar, a resident of the Otokiti area of Lokoja, the state capital.

Abubakar, a graduate of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi,  who was awaiting mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), had left home earlier that day with his tricycle in search of daily earnings but failed to return. His lifeless body was later found around the CBN area in Zone 8, Lokoja.

Following the report, operatives of the Homicide Unit at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) launched a discreet investigation, deploying both intelligence and tactical resources to unravel the circumstances surrounding the killing.

The effort led to the arrest of two suspects identified as Garba Godwin Ibrahim and Ashema Usman Samson.

The police investigations revealed that the suspects, who posed as construction workers, lured the victim to a secluded location where they attacked him with a shovel. An autopsy later confirmed that the victim died from multiple severe blows to the back of the head, resulting in fatal skull fractures and intracranial injuries.

The suspects reportedly confessed that the attack was premeditated and carried out with the intent to dispossess the victim of his tricycle.

Further investigation revealed that the stolen tricycle was sold to one Kabiru Idris in Ayingba. Police operatives subsequently tracked and arrested the receiver. A search of his residence led to the recovery of the victim’s tricycle and four additional motorcycles suspected to have been stolen.

Idris was said to have admitted to maintaining dealings with the principal suspects and receiving stolen items from other criminal elements involved in armed robbery.

The command further disclosed that Ibrahim and Samson are ex-convicts previously linked to armed robbery and culpable homicide cases involving the deaths of over 16 persons.

The suspects have since been charged before Magistrate Court 5 in Lokoja and remanded in custody.

Commending the operatives for their professionalism, the state commissioner of police, CP Naziru Bello Kankarofi, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to ridding the state of criminal elements.