Crime
FCT Police Foil Midnight Kidnapping, Arrest Viral AK-47 Bandits
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has recorded significant successes in its ongoing fight against crime, foiling a midnight kidnapping attempt in Byazhin and arresting several high-profile suspects, including bandits who recently flaunted AK-47 rifles on social media.
Acting on credible intelligence, operatives of the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit stormed a residential area near Paze Hills in Byazhin in the early hours of Thursday and disrupted armed men attempting to break into a building to abduct its occupants. A couple was rescued unharmed during the operation.
The victims expressed relief at the timely intervention by the police.
In a related development, the police arrested three suspected bandits who gained notoriety after appearing in viral social media videos brandishing AK-47 rifles while dressed in military camouflage. The suspects were tracked and apprehended in Runji village, Zuba. Items recovered from them include one AK-47 rifle, eight mobile phones, two jackknives, power banks, and several incriminating photographs and videos.
FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi, who paraded the suspects before journalists, vowed continued aggressive action against criminal elements.
The Command also presented a suspect and his girlfriend over the alleged kidnapping and murder of 22-year-old Emmanuel Chukwuemeka. Police investigations revealed that the suspect lured the victim to a mountainous area in Lokogoma over a dispute involving fraudulent proceeds before allegedly killing him.
In another operation, security operatives arrested a wanted suspect linked to the supply of ammunition to bandits, terrorists, and kidnapping gangs operating in the North Central region and the FCT. Arms and ammunition were recovered during the operation.
Additionally, two suspected “one-chance” robbers were arrested after they allegedly attacked a female commuter along the Giri-Lugbe road.
The CP used the occasion to dismiss social media reports of a recent kidnapping at a school in Gbagalape, describing the claims as false and misleading.
Meanwhile, the FCT Police Command has begun strict enforcement against vehicles with unauthorised tinted glasses across the territory.
The breakthroughs come despite the rainy weather as officers continue to intensify patrols and intelligence-led operations to make the nation’s capital safer.
The Kogi State Police Command has confirmed that 10 of the 15 National Youth Service Corps members abducted by suspected bandits along the Aloma–Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area have been rescued.
Commissioner of Police Naziru Bello Kankarofi said security operatives are combing surrounding forests and intensifying efforts to free the remaining victims.
He dismissed reports that the 10 rescued corps members were among the 11 persons freed during a joint security operation last week, clarifying that those earlier rescued were other travellers caught up in the same kidnapping incident.
The commissioner added that several suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack.
Watch the video below:
Suspected terrorists killed four people, abducted four others and injured several more in an attack on Gorau town in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State on Wednesday night.
The attackers invaded the community around 9pm and shot 11 residents, according to the village head, Alhaji Aliyu Magaji Na-Batsami. Seven of those shot survived and were rushed to hospital for treatment, while four died instantly.
The assault came barely six days after a boat accident claimed 65 lives in the same community. Na-Batsami said the terrorists specifically targeted families of the boat mishap victims over the N1 million relief money donated by the Sokoto State Government to each bereaved family. He said the bandits went from house to house searching for the cash.
Bashir Usman Gorau, the member representing Gada/Goronyo Federal Constituency, confirmed the incident and offered condolences to the affected families.
Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer of the Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmad Rufai, were unsuccessful as calls were not returned at the time of filing this report.
At least 24 bandits were killed on Tuesday after Nigerian Army soldiers, Department of State Services (DSS) operatives and members of the Katsina Community Watch Corps foiled a planned mass abduction in Gidan Bawa village, Kandarawa Ward, Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State.
According to a security source, the operation was launched following sustained intelligence that about 40 gunmen loyal to notorious bandit kingpin Isiya Kwashen Garwa planned to invade the community and abduct residents, particularly women and children. The plot was reportedly intended to mirror the recent mass abduction of residents in Woro community, Kwara State, in a bid to embarrass the government.
Acting on the tip-off, DSS operatives mobilised the Community Watch Corps and the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) from Guga camp. The joint team ambushed the bandits as they moved to carry out the attack.
The source said the operatives neutralised 24 of the gunmen and rescued villagers who had already been abducted. Nineteen stolen cattle were also recovered during the raid.
Efforts are ongoing to track down the remaining bandits who fled the scene.
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