THE Nigerian Police Force has said it arrested 1173 suspects between April and May 2021, but criminal activities prevail in the country.
Inspector-General of Police Usman Baba said this on Thursday during a media briefing in Abuja, noting that the arrested suspects included 398 armed robbery suspects and 222 murder suspects.
“Between April to May, 2021, a 1,173 high-profile suspects have been arrested by the police during various operations conducted by operatives of the Nigeria Police,” Baba said.
He stated that the force also arrested 258 cult-related offenders, 202 bandits and 86 kidnapping suspects across the country.
Baba further noted that 431 firearms and 10,120 ammunition were recovered while 152 kidnapped victims were rescued.
The IGP said among the arrested suspects were the principal actors involved in the March 20 attack on Governor of Benue State Samuel Ortom.
However, despite the various arrests and arms recoveries across the country, criminal activities have continued in the country.
Between April 1 and May 20, there were a total number of 378 crises across Nigeria, according to data obtained from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a crisis data collection organisation.
The data show that during the period in question, there were 1,238 reported fatalities in Nigeria.
The violent activities and fatalities cut across battles, riots, explosions and remote violence, as well as violence against civilians.
Between April 1 and May 21, there were 170 battles, 35 riots, 18 explosions/eemote violence and 155 violence against civilians in Nigeria, according to the data obtained by The ICIR.
Currently, the security crisis in Nigeria has not improved, as the regions of the country continue to battle the challenges.
In the southern part of the country, there are ongoing clashes between security forces and the Indigenous People of Biafra, herders/farmers crisis, destruction of electoral offices, among others.
In the northern region, there are cases of kidnapping, abduction, killings and other insurgent activities.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via labolade@icirnigeria.org, on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94