The Nigeria Police Force has intensified its crackdown on criminal activities, apprehending 13 suspected kidnappers and recovering a cache of dangerous weapons in a series of successful operations.
Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made this known during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, detailing the breakthroughs achieved by law enforcement.
One of the key operations took place on March 11, 2025, when operatives from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) were ambushed by armed kidnappers at Oshara Ganden, a border area between Kogi and Edo States.
The officers engaged the attackers, subduing them and arresting eight suspects.
Seized from them were an AK-47 rifle with 29 rounds of live ammunition, an Israeli pump-action rifle with four cartridges, two pump-action rifles with 72 cartridges, a single-barrel shotgun with two cartridges, and two operational motorcycles.
In a separate operation on January 27, 2025, IRT operatives, acting on credible intelligence, arrested two suspects, Yakubu Musa and Usman Musa, both from Kaduna State.
They were reportedly involved in multiple kidnappings and cattle rustling incidents in the Soba and Ikara areas. During their arrest, officers recovered three AK-47 rifles and 19 rounds of live ammunition.
Another operation on January 21, 2025, led to the capture of three more suspects—Abubakar Lawan, Isiaku Abdullahi, and Abbas Maisaude—on charges of criminal conspiracy, unlawful possession of firearms, and kidnapping.
The suspects allegedly confessed to participating in several abductions across Rijana, Lambata, Dandume, and Ugama in Kaduna and Niger States.
Security operatives recovered one AK-49 rifle, two AK-47 rifles, and 28 rounds of live ammunition from them.
ACP Adejobi assured that investigations are ongoing to track down other members of the criminal syndicate.