•Arrest 42-year old Suspect
•Recover 304 Fake NIN, PVCs
In a major breakthrough, the Niger State Police Command says it has uncovered an alleged illegal factory producing counterfeit National Identity Number (NIN) cards and Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
The development led to the arrest of a 42-year old suspect accused of operating the forgery ring.
The suspect, identified as Mohammed Aliyu Buba, was arrested by operatives of the Tactical Support Team following credible intelligence linking him to the production and distribution of fake government-issued identity documents.
Addressing journalists in Minna, the Commissioner of Police, Adamu Abdullahi Elleman, who broke news of the breakthrough on Sunday, said the operation was carried out on July 28 at the suspect’s residence in Angwan Sarki, Munya Local Government Area, where officers recovered a large cache of counterfeit identity documents.
According to the police, the raid yielded 105 fake NIN cards and 189 counterfeit Permanent Voter Cards, believed to have been prepared for circulation within Munya, Wushishi and neighbouring communities.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly produced forged identification documents for more than 1,000 individuals. Police said he confessed to charging ₦2,000 for each fake NIN card and ₦1,000 per counterfeit PVC, generating proceeds estimated at over ₦3 million from the illicit operation.
Commissioner Elleman disclosed that the suspect remained in police custody and would be arraigned upon the conclusion of investigations.
He warned Nigerians against procuring or using forged government identity documents, stressing that both the production and possession of such documents constitute criminal offences under the law.
The police chief reaffirmed the command’s commitment to dismantling criminal networks involved in forgery, identity fraud and related offences, while urging members of the public to continue providing credible intelligence to support ongoing security operations across the state.
