The Police Commissioner in Niger, Ogundele Ayodeji, says a preliminary investigation has revealed an in-house conspiracy to the robbery attack at the Emir of Minna Palace on Tuesday.
Mr Ayodeji stated this in a chat with journalists, on the side line of the G-7 states Technical Committee Meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.
He recalled that the hoodlums attacked the palace on Tuesday afternoon, killed two palace guards and carted away N3.3 million.
He said that ongoing investigation suggests that the robbers connived with someone in the palace to perpetuate the crime.
The commissioner, said that his men were already trailing the criminals, and expressed confidence that they would be caught sooner or later.
“I was called around 3:00 p.m. while in Abuja for the G-7 states Technical Committee Meeting, that there was a robbery attack in front of the palace of the Emir of Minna.
“From the update I got, the hoodlums tailed the cashier of the emirate up to the gate of the palace.
“As the cashier was about to enter the palace, the criminals shot sporadically, and in the process, killed two of the palace guards and carted away with N3.3 million.
“From the reports I have received, there seems to be an in-house conspiracy to the crime, and I am confident that the criminals will be caught sooner or later,” he said.
He described the G-7 platform, made up of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its six neighbouring states, as “very strategic” in fighting cross-border crime among the member states.
He said that the G-7 technical committee comprised of security chiefs of the FCT, Benue, Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau States.
Mr Ayodeji said that the meeting was long overdue, adding that the joint actions, operations, and clearing of bandits within the member states would be done simultaneously.
“If you allow Kaduna State to do their own operations, the bandits will run to Niger State; if you allow Niger to do their own operations, they will run to Kaduna.
“However, when operations are done simultaneously, which is why we are here, the issue of criminal and banditry activities will be reduced to the barest minimum,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the G-7 were made up of the FCT, Benue, Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau States.
The G-7 was initiated in 2007 by the then Minister of the FCT, Dr Modibbo Umar, to deal with issues of criminality that was plaguing the FCT and its contiguous states.
NAN
