According to the Plateau Police Command, one of the bandits murdered by troops of Operation Safe Haven, (OPSH), in the state’s Mangu Local Government Area was a former member of the Police Constabulary.
DSP Alfred Alabo, the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, identified the bandit as Katzing Zwalnan Zingfa, who was fired a year ago and declared wanted.
Mr Alabo said in a statement released on Thursday in Jos that Zingfa was one of three bandits who tried to ambush OPSH forces along the Mangun-Pushit-Mangu road but were defeated by the valiant soldiers.
Following the incident, the OPSH discovered a constabulary identity card on the bandit on Wednesday.
Alabo stated that the deceased was from Langtang North Local Government and had received specific constabulary training.
”On completion of his training on Nov. 23, 2020, he was posted to our Langtang North Area Command and later to Langtang North Division to carry out his duty of assisting the Police in crime prevention and intelligence gathering.
”He absconded from duty for over a year and his character was already in question, after several warnings he was declared an absentee according to the first schedule 1990 and section 107 of the Nigeria Police Act 2020.
”The Area Commander in Langtang also directed all Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in the command to arrest him once found.
”The DPOs have been on the lookout for him until Wednesday, July 12, when troops of OPSH did a good job by neutralising him and two other bandits in Mangu,” he said.
According to him, the command distances itself from any illegal acts carried out by the deceased, and has been making attempts to track down and recover all Police property in his hands prior to his neutralization by forces.
