Several suspected criminals were arrested during the Christmas period, said the police.

Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement on Friday, said they were involved in armed robbery, cultism and gangsterism.

He said the arrests were in line with the directive of the inspector general of police, Kayode Egbetokun, to commands and formations.

Mr Adejobi said operatives from the police command in Lagos on December 25 arrested three suspected hoodlums operating around the Safejo area of Amukoko, Lagos.

He said the arrest followed a distress call that a group of hoodlums armed with dangerous weapons were operating in the area.

Mr Adejobi said the swift response by the police operatives led to the arrest of the three suspects and recovery of the weapons used in carrying out their robbery attacks on innocent fun seekers.

He said the police had intensified searches to apprehend the fleeing members of the gang.

In a similar development, Mr Adejobi said police operatives attached to Saminaka Division in Kaduna, on December 25, arrested a suspect over the kidnapping.

He added that the suspect had been actively involved in multiple kidnapping operations within the Saminaka area of the state.

According to him, further investigation led to the recovery of a fabricated AK-47 rifle from the suspect.

He said the suspect had confessed to being a member of a notorious kidnapping gang that had been evading arrest since the arrest of other gang members on August 16.

(NAN)