Police in Taraba State have arrested an Inspector of Police and his girlfriend after an assault rifle reportedly went missing along the Wukari-Jootar Federal Highway.
The development was made public on Saturday by security analyst Zagazola Makama in a post on X.
According to Makama, the rifle belongs to Inspector Joshua Charles, who is attached to the Safer Highway Patrol team. He said the officer left his duty post on December 25 and went into Wukari town, while three other policemen remained on duty at the checkpoint.
Makama explained that later that day, the inspector’s girlfriend, Ruth Alphancis, returned home and claimed she noticed signs that their room had been broken into.
“When the inspector came back, he allegedly found that his service rifle, which was loaded with ammunition, was missing,” Makama stated.
He added that sources claimed the officer was “allegedly drunk” at the time he discovered the rifle was gone, and that full identification details of the firearm were not immediately available.
After the report was made, police officers visited the area and began an investigation.
“Both the inspector and his girlfriend were taken into custody to assist with the investigation,” Makama said.
Police are still searching for the missing rifle and are working with local residents and hunters in the area to recover the weapon.
