The Borno Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Monday raised alarm over the spate of armed robbery and kidnapping by some tricycle operators in the state.
Commandant of the corps in the state, Ibrahim Abdullahi, disclosed this in an interview noting that intelligence report from his personnel revealed that certain gangs of individuals were hiding under the guise of tricycle operators to perpetrate all sort of crimes.
He said “We have received about seven complaints from several individuals on how tricycle operators robbed them with dangerous weapons at different locations.
“First was one Abdulkadir Bashir who came to the command on Tuesday and reported that some tricycle operators almost lynched him and took his phones, wallet and money.
“The culprits normally operates around 9:30 p.m. before the curfew time when people are rushing to go back home.
“The last complaint was from one Malam Tukur Mobar, a 45-year-old who closed from his shop and was kidnapped and taken to Bulumkutu but was later released when he paid some certain money,’’ he said.
Expressing worry that the culprits always operated with tricycles that have no union registration and number plates so that they cannot be identified, he said, “Some of them even use yellow cello-tape to hide their union and plate numbers to avoid any trace.
“It is in line with this ugly trend that the command deems it fit to call the attention of residents in the state to be security conscious.
“People must always look out on tricycle with proper registration.
“We are making effort to bring the culprits to book hence the need to inform the people to be cautious of such persons” the NSCDC boss said.
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