The Police in Katsina have arrested one Abubakar Shafiu, who claimed to be an inspector with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) alongside five other suspects with 164 allegedly stolen cows.
Parading the suspects at the police headquarters in Katsina, the command’s spokesperson, SP Gambo Isah, said the suspects were intercepted on Thursday at about 1.30 am at Jibia in Katsina State while conveying three truckloads of the cows with Shafiu escorting them.
“Investigation is ongoing in this matter.
“We all know that so many cows have been rustled in Katsina and Zamfara States, and precisely, we know that Zurmi is a hideout of so many criminals,” SP Isah said.
Isah, who disclosed that the feat was achieved as a result of credible intelligence obtained by a combined team of the Nigerian Customs Service and the police, added that: “We are not relenting, we are going to investigate the sources of these cows and ensure that anyone of the suspects found wanting is taken to court for prosecution.”
However, the suspected officer told newsmen that the other suspects, Mohammad Isah, Ibrahim Mohammed, Idris Mohammad, Usman Mohammed and Saidu Lawal, were his relatives from Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
He, then denied the allegation that the cattle were stolen, insisting they were taken to Potiskum and Buni Yadi in Yobe State by their owners to escape bandits’ attacks in Zamfara State, adding that he had escorted some truckloads of cattle out of Zamfara prior to his arrest.