The Nigeria Police Force says its operatives have arrested eight suspected kidnappers at Oshara Ganden, a border area between Kogi state and Edo state.
A statement on Monday by Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the force spokesperson, said operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) were on a “special mission” to Edo when they encountered an ambush laid by armed kidnappers.
Adejobi said the incident occurred on March 11, with a cache of weapons recovered from the suspects.
“Operatives recovered an AK-47 rifle with 29 live rounds, an Israeli pump-action rifle with 4 cartridges, two pump-action rifles with 72 cartridges, a single-barrel shotgun with 2 cartridges, and two operational motorcycles,” he said.
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“The arrested individuals were identified as Tukur Salisu, Sani Abubakar, Mamud Sani, Umar Abdullahi, Salisu Mohammed, Salisu Usman, Bashir Audu, and Jibril Haruna.”
In a separate operation conducted on January 27, Adejobi said operatives of the IRT, acting on credible intelligence, apprehended two suspected kidnappers.
The force spokesperson, who identified the suspects as Yakubu Musa and Usman Musa, said they were linked to “multiple cases of kidnapping and cattle rustling” in the Soba and Ikara areas of Kaduna.
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He added that security operatives seized three AK-47 rifles and 19 live rounds upon their arrest, providing additional evidence of their involvement in criminal activities.
The police spokesperson said officers also arrested three suspects, Abubakar Lawan, Isiaku Abdullahi, and Abbas Maisaude, on January 20 for alleged criminal conspiracy, illegal firearm possession, and involvement in kidnapping activities.
Adejobi said the suspects confessed to participating in multiple kidnapping incidents across Rijana, Lambata, Dandume, and Ugama in Kaduna state and Niger state.
“Recovered from them were one AK-49 rifle, two AK-47 rifles, and 28 rounds of live ammunition. Efforts are ongoing to apprehend additional members of their gang”, he added.
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