Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
The Sokoto State Police Command has intensified its crackdown on criminal networks operating across the North-West, arresting suspected bandit financiers and a motorcycle theft ring during a series of coordinated operations executed across Sokoto and neighbouring Zamfara State.
According to security sources, the operation was the culmination of weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering, during which detectives traced the movement of funds and logistics believed to be sustaining several armed groups responsible for terror attacks in the region. Acting on this intelligence, police operatives moved swiftly to apprehend individuals suspected of funnelling money, supplies, and other forms of support to bandit cells hiding within thick forest belts that span the two states.
Investigators say the suspects were not mere intermediaries but part of a broader underground network that has been helping criminal gangs acquire essential resources, including fuel, mobile phones, and spare parts used for motorcycles and vehicles deployed in attacks. Their arrest, security analysts argue, represents an important step in dismantling the financial and logistical arteries that allow heavily armed groups to carry out kidnappings, ambushes, and village raids across rural communities.
As the operation progressed, officers also uncovered a motorcycle theft syndicate whose activities were closely intertwined with the region’s insecurity. The network allegedly specialised in stealing motorcycles in Sokoto before transporting them across state lines to Zamfara, where the stolen machines were resold or exchanged for cash, drugs, or weapons. Some of the motorcycles, according to early findings, ended up in the hands of bandit commanders who rely on them for mobility in remote terrains where security patrols are limited.
During the arrests, police operatives reportedly recovered several motorcycles alongside tools and identification documents believed to have been used to disguise stolen items. Forensic checks are currently underway to match the recovered motorcycles with their owners and trace the syndicate’s operational routes.
Security officials say the breakthrough demonstrates the growing sophistication of the Sokoto Police Command’s intelligence operations and highlights the importance of cutting off the economic lifelines that sustain violent groups. By hitting both the financiers and the suppliers at once, authorities believe they have disrupted a critical network that has long undermined peace and stability in the North-West.
The Command is expected to release a comprehensive briefing once ongoing interrogations are concluded, after which the suspects will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
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