A Bauchi court has sentenced eight suspects to eight years’ imprisonment each for thuggery and disturbance of public peace in Unguwar Dim, Bauchi metropolis.
The court, however, gave each of them the option of paying a fine of N370,000.
The suspects were arrested after the Bauchi State Police Command received a complaint from the Peace and Security Committee of Unguwar Dim on October 14 over renewed thuggery in the area.
Following the complaint, police operatives and members of the committee raided a suspected hoodlums’ hideout in the early hours of October 15.
The operation led to the arrest of nine suspects and the recovery of machetes, cutlasses, knives, sticks, illicit substances and other dangerous items.
Police spokesman, SP Nafiu Habib, said in a statement issued on Saturday that eight of the suspects were charged to court after investigations.
He said the suspects pleaded guilty to the charges and were convicted and sentenced by the court.
The Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, welcomed the judgment, describing it as a result of effective collaboration between the police and the community.
Aliyu reaffirmed the command’s commitment to tackling thuggery and other violent crimes in Bauchi State.