A Bauchi State court has sentenced eight men to eight years’ imprisonment each for thuggery and disturbance of public peace in Unguwar Dim, Bauchi metropolis, following a police operation targeting renewed criminal activities in the community.
The convicts were also given the option of paying a fine of N370,000 each, according to the Bauchi State Police Command.
The command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Nafiu Habib, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday, October 17, 2026.
Habib said the police received a complaint from the Peace and Security Committee in Unguwar Dim on October 14 over a resurgence of thuggery in the area.
Following the complaint, a combined team of operatives from the Violent Crime Response Unit, the D Division patrol team and members of the community security committee raided a suspected hideout in the early hours of October 15.
Nine suspects were arrested during the operation, while weapons and other items described by the police as dangerous were recovered. These included machetes, cutlasses, knives and sticks, alongside suspected illicit substances.
Five convicts identified by police
According to Habib, eight of the nine people arrested were charged to court after investigations.
The police statement identified five of the convicts as Abubakar Saddik Abdullahi, 30; Hassan Abdulmumini, 24; Mu’ab Alhassan, 19; Ismail Sabo Usman, 19; and Usman Sani Sulaiman, 22. Three others were also convicted, but their names were not disclosed in the report.
Habib said the eight defendants pleaded guilty to the charges during the proceedings and were sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment each, with an option of a N370,000 fine.
The police did not identify the court or provide further details about the specific charges brought against the defendants.
Police commissioner welcomes judgment
The Commissioner of Police in Bauchi State, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, welcomed the judgment, describing it as evidence of cooperation between security agencies and community members in addressing criminal activities.
“The judgment is a testament to effective police-community partnership, legal victory and the resolve of the criminal justice system to deal decisively with thuggery,” the statement quoted Aliyu as saying.
He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to sustaining operations against thuggery, disturbances of public peace and other violent crimes across the state.
The commissioner also urged residents to continue providing credible information to the police to help prevent crime and maintain security in their communities.
The operation followed a complaint from the Unguwar Dim Peace and Security Committee, highlighting the role of community reporting in alerting law enforcement authorities to suspected criminal activity.
The police said the operation led to the arrest of nine suspects, although only eight were subsequently charged in connection with the case.
The command said it would continue its operations against violent crime and called on residents to cooperate with law enforcement authorities.
