Police Arrest 161 Suspects, Rescue 95 Kidnap Victims

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has said it arrested 161 suspects involved in terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and cultism across the country within one week, while 95 kidnapped victims were rescued through coordinated security operations.

Presenting the Force’s weekly operational briefing at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Saturday, force public relations officer, CSP Ani Iniedu said the operatives also recovered 27 firearms, including AK-47 rifles, pump-action guns and submachine guns, as well as 396 rounds of assorted live ammunition between July 27 and August 1.

“Five vehicles and a significant number of rustled cattle were recovered, while eight notorious criminals were neutralised during separate encounters with security operatives,” the Force PRO said.

One of the major successes was recorded in Sokoto State where tactical teams comprising the Anti-Kidnapping Unit and the Violent Crime Response Unit engaged armed bandits in a fierce gun battle at Maikujera Village in Rabah local government area on July 28.

The police said the bandits abandoned their captives and fled into the forest after being overwhelmed by superior firepower.

32 kidnapped victims, including six adult males and 26 females, most of them children, were rescued unharmed.

The victims have since been evacuated to safety and are receiving medical and psychological care before being reunited with their families.

In Rivers State, a joint operation involving police operatives and local vigilantes raided a criminal hideout in the Kom-Kom/Afam Forest, leading to the arrest of two suspects and the rescue of four kidnapped victims without payment of ransom.

In Enugu State, security operatives neutralised a suspected kidnapper and rescued a 45-year-old woman, Mrs. Asadu Callista, near the Kogi State boundary.

In Imo State, two kidnapped victims were rescued and their vehicle recovered in Owerri, while in Kano State, police rescued nine of 13 abducted passengers after a gun duel with kidnappers. Efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the remaining four victims.

The Force also recorded significant breakthroughs in arms recovery. Among the items seized were an AK-47 rifle and a submachine gun recovered from a gang armourer in Rivers State, a pump-action rifle and a hand grenade recovered in Abia State, an English-made Makarov pistol with 11 rounds of 9mm ammunition recovered from a suspect posing as a foreign police officer, and five magazines loaded with 40 rounds of ammunition recovered in Sokoto State.

The police disclosed that eight criminals were neutralised during separate operations, including two bandits in Benue State and a suspected kidnapper in Enugu State. Security operatives also inflicted heavy casualties on a large bandit group during a failed reprisal attack in Katsina State.