A 30-year-old man, Sunday Pada, has been beaten and stabbed to death by a mob in the Korokpan area of Minna, Niger State, following an allegation that he was a thief.

The Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed in a statement on Tuesday that four suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.

The command said it also arrested 15 other suspects for alleged theft, vandalism, extortion, fraud and other offences in separate operations across the state.

According to Abiodun, the incident involving Pada occurred on August 10, 2026, after an alarm was raised accusing him of being a thief.

He said police operatives attached to the Paiko Division were alerted and moved to the scene, but the suspects had fled before their arrival, adding that the victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was confirmed dead.

Abiodun said three of the suspects were later discovered in the custody of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency following a raid in the area and were subsequently handed over to the police, while another suspect was arrested.

He identified the suspects as Ibrahim Abubakar, Aliyu Onah, Godwin Musa and Aminu Bawa, all of the Korokpan area of Minna.

“During the investigation, it was revealed that the deceased was coming from a friend’s house, and the suspects claimed that somebody raised an alarm, shouting thief, thereby intercepting the said Sunday Pada, beaten seriously and later stabbed to death,” the PPRO said.

He noted that the four suspects are under investigation by the State Criminal Investigation Department, Minna, for alleged criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide.

Meanwhile, Abiodun stated that the command’s tactical team recovered an AK-47 rifle and ammunition along a suspected bandits’ route around Krusha-Genu village in Rijau Local Government Area.

He noted that the recovery was made on August 15 following information received from a reliable source.

He noted, “Operatives recovered an AK-47 rifle with a magazine containing 19 rounds of live ammunition, another empty magazine and 55 rounds of GPMG anti-aircraft ammunition.

“The items are in custody undergoing forensic investigation and analysis, while the joint clearance operations are intensified,” Abiodun said.

In another operation, the command also arrested three suspects allegedly involved in stealing goats and other animals in the Gidan-Kwano area.

Abiodun noted that the suspects, Danlami Ali, 45; Sabastine Masangu, 49; and Masaud Abdullahi, 35, were intercepted in a black tinted Volkswagen vehicle.

The PPRO stated that animal skins suspected to have been stolen were recovered from the vehicle.

“It was also established that the syndicate specialised in stealing goats and other animals within the community with the use of the tinted vehicle,” Abiodun added.

He added that four other suspects were arrested in Minna for alleged criminal conspiracy, extortion and fraud linked to a fake QNET online investment scheme.

According to the police, the suspects allegedly lured a victim from Kano to Minna with a purported job offer before taking him to a house in Farm Centre.

The suspects allegedly demanded N200,000 from the victim for an online investment after he arrived in Minna.

“The victim insisted that he came for the job offer and not for online investment, but the suspects intimidated him and made him transfer the two hundred thousand naira to the account of one Aminu Bello,” Abiodun said.

He added that the suspects later demanded another N200,000, which the victim declined to pay, after which he was allegedly slapped.

“During the time for prayer, the victim was able to escape from the house, and he was intercepted by the police before narrating the details,” he said.

In another operation, the command also arrested two suspects in separate incidents involving alleged theft from articulated vehicles along the Mokwa-Jebba road.

In one incident, Abiodun said police arrested Ibrahim Mohammed after suspected thieves allegedly abandoned him while attempting to steal cartons of spaghetti from a parked truck at Kpaki village.

The truck driver, who had stopped to observe morning prayers, reportedly alerted the police after sighting the suspects.

“On sighting the police, the hoodlums hurriedly zoomed off, leaving one of the suspects behind, and he was immediately arrested,” Abiodun said.

In another incident, Abdulhakeem Sani was arrested after police received information that suspected stolen goods were being offloaded at a house in Lafiagi village.

“Cartons of Nestle beverages were recovered, while the owner was later identified and contacted,” the PPRO said.

Similarly, six suspects were also arrested over alleged shop-breaking, theft and receiving stolen property following the theft of truck spare parts worth N600,000 from a spare parts dealer’s shop.

The PPRO said one suspect, Mohammed Hassan, was arrested and allegedly confessed to the crime, leading to the identification of five other suspects.

“All stolen items were recovered while the suspects are in custody undergoing further investigation to reveal other accomplices,” Abiodun said.

He added that the command further recovered two 1,000KVA transformers allegedly stolen from the Federal Housing Estate, Tungan-Shanu.

According to the PPRO, the transformers were recovered after police intercepted a Hijet vehicle carrying the items during stop-and-search operations along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway and Maje-Dikko Road.

The driver, Bilyaminu Jibrin, allegedly told investigators that he had been hired by Yahaya Nepa to deliver the transformers to Jabi, Abuja.

“Further investigation led to the arrest of the said Yahaya, who confessed to purchasing the transformers from the security man, Saddam Mohammed, attached to the Estate in whose custody they were kept,” Abiodun said.

He added that the transformers were allegedly purchased for N750,000 each.

He noted that another security guard, Samuel Adedeji, was also arrested, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend other suspects linked to the case.

The PPRO said all the suspects and recovered exhibits remained in police custody as investigations continued.

“The suspects and recovered exhibits are in Police custody while the investigation continues, after which the suspects will be charged to court and prosecuted accordingly,” Abiodun said. (The PUNCH, but headline reworked)