Police arrest suspect in Niger, recover locally made gun, ammunition

“He couldn’t give a satisfactory account of himself, as well as the gun in his possession,” Mr Abiodun said.

Yunusa Umar • August 3, 2026

Arrested suspect [Credit: X]

The Niger State police command has arrested a suspect, identified as Malachi Bitrus, for allegedly possessing a locally made gun and three rounds of live AK-47 ammunition at Pogo village in Paikoro Local Government Area of the state.

A statement on Monday by the command’s spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, said the suspect was arrested at about 7:30 p.m. during a stop-and-search operation in the village.

“On 25th July 2026, about 7.30 p.m., Police Safer Highway Patrol team stationed at Pogo village via Paiko, during a routine stop-and-search, arrested one Malachi Bitrus of Munya area with a locally made gun and three rounds of live ammunition of AK-47,” he said.

Mr Abiodun said the suspect was taken to the Paiko police division, where he claimed during interrogation to be a vigilante member and a forest officer.

“He couldn’t give a satisfactory account of himself, as well as the gun in his possession. He was later transferred to SCID Minna for further investigation,” he added.

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