The Anambra State Police Command has announced the arrest of three suspected vandals and the recovery of stolen items, including high-tension cables and parts of transformer equipment in the Onitsha area of the state.
The arrested suspects are Adamu Ali, Usman Sulaiman, and Isah Abdullahi.
The Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, reiterating the Command’s sustained fight against acts of sabotage and vandalism of government infrastructure.
“On the 21st of August 2025, operatives of the Command attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, acting on credible intelligence, raided a vandal’s hideout along Atani Road, Onitsha. During the operation, three suspects were arrested. They include Adamu Ali ‘M’, 25 years; Usman Sulaiman ‘M’, 22 years; and Isah Abdullahi ‘M’, 26 years.
“The operatives also recovered from them bags of high-tension cable wires, melted cable wires, and parts of transformer equipments. Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects are part of a syndicate that specialises in vandalising and selling power installations, with Lagos identified as their major sales outlet,” the statement noted.
In a related development earlier the same day, security operatives attached to Isiowulu Police Station reported that their team, while on patrol along Ascension Anglican Church Road, accosted four young men carrying a black “Super Shopping” bag.
SP Ikenga stated that, upon sighting the security operatives, three of the suspects fled, while the fourth — whose name and address are yet to be verified, was apprehended with the bag.
He highlighted the items recovered from the bag after a search was conducted, including assorted colours of armoured cables cut-to-size, one big yellow iron cutter, one black iron cutter, and one ash-coloured glass cutter.
Other items recovered were one black hand glove and one yellow hand glove, one black sling, a bag containing a yellow-background long-sleeve shirt, a bunch of two keys, and a pair of rubber slippers.
“The suspect was thereafter taken into custody. However, while being escorted to be handed over to the Police along with the recovered items, he attempted to escape by jumping from a storey building and in the process of re-arresting him, he sustained gunshot injuries.
“Consequently, he was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was confirmed dead. His body has been deposited in the morgue for autopsy. All the recovered exhibits are now in custody, and the weapon used by the vigilante has also been secured,” the spokesperson said.
He added that a full-scale investigation into both incidents has commenced, including efforts to apprehend the fleeing accomplices and recover more stolen items.
The Command warned criminal elements engaging in the sabotage of public utilities that the police would relentlessly fish them out and urged residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities around government installations to the nearest police station for necessary action.
