Arrested lecturer, student not robbery suspects, police say

The student of Federal University Dutsin-ma and a lecturer at Isah Kaita College of Education, Dutsin-ma, Katsina State, helping police investigation into an alleged fear of possible robbery attack are not suspected to be armed robbers.

The spokesman of the state police command, Abubakar Salisu Agaisa (DSP), who confirmed on Tuesday, said the university’s suggestion that policemen in Dutsin-ma nabbed the suspects was not entirely true.

“The arrest is not a case of armed robbery; a distress call was received by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Dutsin-ma that some people were suspicious of some men loitering around a fuel filing station in the town and the police responded swiftly,” he said.

The university in a press release signed by Habibu Garba Matazu, Public Relations Officer of the university, had said it received police report on alleged attempted robbery case in Dutsin-Ma, involving a Level 200 Student of the university.

The statement read in part: “The student named Kingsley C. Nwokoro with Matric No. SOC/2015/2157 from the Department of Political Science, was arrested by the police along with one other suspect in Dutsin-Ma town, while the third suspect armed and apparently a southerner dressed like a Fulani herdsman escaped when police arrived the scene around 2:30p.m. in the afternoon on Sunday, January 29.

“An indigene of Onicha Local Government, Ebonyi State, Kingsley C. Nwokoro and two others were suspected to be armed robbers, when they were sighted planning to strike at Shema Filling Station in Dutsin-ma Town, at about 2:30p.m. on Sunday.

“According to the police report, Kingsley Nwokoro was not with his identity card at the time of the arrest, but following police investigation, the alleged culprit identified himself as student of Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State.

“The University Dean of Students Affairs, Dr Muhammad Umar Sanda, who was invited by the police in Dutsin-ma to identify the student confirmed that Kingsley C. Nwokoro is a Political Science student of the University.”