By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo

Kaduna- The Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State, Ibrahim Abdullahi, has said that a total of 523 suspects have been arrested for involvement in various criminal activities, including 26 kidnappers, 12 Cattle Rustlers, 97 Phone Snatchers, 17 Car Snatchers, 10 Rape Suspects, amongst others.

Mr Abdullahi spoke to journalists in Kaduna, saying “Since my assumption of duty as the 44th Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State, On 21st October 2024, I CP Ibrahim Abdullahi, psc, mni, have prioritized Proactive Policing, Community Engagement and Collaboration with other Security Agencies to ensure the safety and security of all residents of Kaduna State.”

“I am pleased to inform you that the strategies we have implemented have resulted in significant operational successes, with the unwavering dedication and professionalism of our Officers and men,” he added.

“My achievements are: A total of 523 suspects have been arrested for involvement in various criminal activities, including: 26 kidnappers, 12 Cattle Rustlers, 97 Phone Snatchers, 17 Car Snatchers, 10 Rape Suspects, amongst others.
As we embark into the ember months, efforts have been intensified to tackle crime across the State. Black spots known for criminal activities were raided, leading to the arrest of over 350 suspects. Among those apprehended are suspects involved in phone snatching and Sara Suka, demonstrating a firm commitment to improving public safety and reducing crime during this critical period.”

” The Command has also recovered: Five (5) AK47 Rifles, Two (2) Pistols, One (1) Submachine Gun (SMG), 283 Rustled Cows and 20 Sheep, 105 Rounds of Live Ammunition and 102 Kidnap victims were rescued.”

” On 24th November, 2024, Kaduna State Police Command received a distress call reporting the suspicious activities of armed bandits in large numbers attempting to kidnap farmers harvesting beans in a farm via Idasu Village, Kidandan in Giwa LGA of Kaduna State. Upon receipt of the report, combined teams of Police Mobile Force and Conventional Police men stationed at a nearby village, swiftly mobilized to the location and engaged the bandits in a fierce gun battle. The firepower of the joint teams forced the bandits to flee into the forest with severe gunshot wounds.”

” The Operatives successfully rescued eighty-nine (89) kidnapped victims and recovered one (1) fabricated AK47 Rifle and five (5) rounds of live ammunition. The victims have since been reunited with their families while during the operation, one (1) of the Police Operatives sustained bullet wound on his cheek and currently receiving medical treatment in the hospital.”

“On 10th November, 2024 one Isah Musa ‘m’ while returning on foot from Ung/Shanu to Ung/Sarki along Ali Akilu highway, Kaduna was attacked by one Abdulmalik Aliyu ‘m’ of No.1 Layin Yan’Wanki, Ung/Shanu, Kaduna who was armed with a sharp matchet and cut off the wrist of Isah Musa and robbed him of his VINO Motorcycle, valued at Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand (N450,000:00) Naira . Upon receipt of the report, Police Operatives swung into action and arrested the suspect. During interrogation, the suspect asserted that he was a dismissed Soldier and case is still under investigation.”

“On 13th November, 2024, at about 4:30 hours, Officers from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, of Kaduna State Command led by the Officer in Charge (OC), executed a targeted Operation at Gidan Sani around Jere Area of Kagarko, Kaduna State. During the Operation, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Command arrested one Isa Saidu, 25-year-old ‘m’ suspected of involvement in Arms Trafficking and other related criminal activities. When search was conducted in the suspect’s residence, a fabricated Submachine Gun (SMG) was recovered. The suspect will be charged to court on completion of preliminary investigations.”

“On 20th November, 2024 at about 1230hrs, acting on credible information Police Patrol Team attached to Gabasawa Division, Kaduna swiftly acted and arrested two (2) suspected cell phones thieves namely, Bashir Suleiman ‘m’ and Mohammed Ibrahim ‘m’ of different addresses. Information at disposal indicated that the two (2) suspects specialized in attacking innocent passengers who patronizes Tricycle and smartly steal their cell phones. Upon interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime and mentioned their criminal receiver one Abdulmalik Tafida, a resident of Abuja. When the search was conducted in their hideout, one (1) cell phone was recovered. The case is still under investigation.”

“In the same vein, On 27th October 2024, at about 17:20 hours, Officers from the Kakuri Police Division were alerted to a Toyota LE vehicle with four young men inside, displaying suspicious behaviour along Kachia Road. The police team promptly arrived at the scene, intercepted the vehicle, and detained the four occupants. Upon further investigation at the station, the suspects confessed that they had received the vehicle from two other suspects who had instructed them to sell it. Based on this information, the police tracked down and apprehended the additional two suspects. All six suspects are currently in police custody, and further investigations are ongoing.”

“On 29th October 2024, Acting on credible intelligence, Officers from Katari Division, Kaduna apprehended one Abdullahi Saleh, 42-year-old ‘m’ in connection with aiding banditry and attempted extortion. According to a preliminary investigation, the suspect reportedly approached a female shop owner at Katari Main Market, Kaduna on October 25, 2024. He informed her that a group of bandits was allegedly planning to kidnap her but claimed he had intervened on her behalf. To avoid the purported abduction, he demanded a payment of 200,000 Naira, later reducing the amount to Sixty Thousand (N60,000) Naira after further negotiation. Upon arrest, Saleh admitted to the act during questioning and is currently in police custody.”

“On 31st October 2024, Acting on credible intelligence received, the Officer in Charge of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Sp Sani Ibrahim Zuntu led a team of operatives to a remote area of Gora Village. The team located and arrested five suspects and recovered two hundred and eighty three (283) Cattles and twenty (20) sheep suspected to be rustled.
The arrested suspects are:
Danjuma Alhaji Nguna, 25 years, Saleh Shehu, 35 years, Isiya Abdullahi, 35 years, Abubakar Isiya, 13 years and Aminu Abdullahi a.k.a. “Kano,” 13 years.
All the suspects will be charged to court after the completion of preliminary investigations.”

” On 31st October, 2024, at about 17:00 hours, following an intelligence report received by the Ikara Division of a suspicious bandits activity in a remote bush area near Kauyen Magaji Auchan village. Acting promptly on the information, a patrol team from Ikara division was dispatched to the scene, where the team engaged the bandits in a gunfight that forced them to scamper into the bush. As a result of the operation two victims were rescued namely, Ibrahim Abdullahi, and Hafsat Yusuf. The victims were immediately transported to a nearby hospital for a thorough medical examination and after that they were reunited with their families.”

” On 22nd October 2024, police detectives arrested Aliyu Yusuf, a 23-year-old man from Raminkura Village, Lere LGA, based on credible intelligence. He was found with a locally made pistol loaded with live ammunition. During interrogation, he mentioned one Munir Dayyabu, a 32-year-old from the same village, as the person who provided the weapon. Both suspects and the exhibit are transferred to the SCID for further investigation.”

” On October 23, at about 23:12 hours, surveillance patrol officers of Rigasa division, acting on credible information, tracked down and arrested two suspects, Umar Aliyu 21 year old and Abubakar Abdullahi Buba 19 years old, for terrorizing and involvement in tricycle theft in the Rigasa area. The suspects, known for stealing and causing trouble, were caught with a tricycle glass panel. After preliminary investigations, they were charged to court.”

” On 30/10/2024, at about 2:00 hours, a case of criminal conspiracy and child trafficking was transferred from the Antang Police Outpost to the Kafanchan Divisional Police Headquarters. A good Samaritan reported that on 29/10/2024, Evelyn Anthony from Madala, Niger State, conspired with a friend and went to her husband’s house, whose name is not yet known, and kidnapped her two-week-old baby. During the investigation, detectives traced the suspects to Madala based on reliable information, arrested them, and rescued the baby. The victim and the mother were taken to the General Hospital Kafanchan for medical treatment. The suspects will be charged in court after the preliminary investigation is completed.”

“At about 1830 hours, the DPO of Rigasa Division received a report from a concerned citizen about unknown individuals stealing and vandalizing solar streetlights at the railway station. The DPO swiftly mobilized officers to the scene. The suspects arrested are: Abdulrahman Abubakar (18), Ahmed Lukman (19), Mudassir Kabiru (18), and Bilyaminu Abdulkarim (19). The stolen items were recovered, and further investigation is ongoing.”

“In a successful joint operation carried out on November 13, 2024, at 16:00 hours, officers from the Jere Police Divisional Patrol Team, with Military Personnel from the 102 Guards Battalion at Zuma Barracks, apprehended a suspected member of a notorious kidnapping syndicate. The suspect, identified as Ali Lawal, a resident of Lodduga Village in Kachia Local Government Area (LGA), was apprehended in the SCC area of Jere following credible intelligence report. The suspect confessed to being an active member of a kidnapping syndicate terrorizing the Chinka and Tudun Wada areas of Kagarko LGA.The following exhibits were recovered from the suspect, two Android smart phones, three SIM cards, and a cash sum of One Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira (N120,000.00).”

” On 20th November 2024, Acting on credible intelligence, a team from the Anchau Police Division successfully arrested a suspected kidnapper, Danladi Lawal, a male resident of Gedege Village in Kubau Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State. The suspect confessed to being the gang leader of a kidnapping syndicate responsible for terrorizing communities within Kubau LGA and its environs.During interrogation, he admitted to conspiring with five other gang members to kidnap a victim, for whom they extorted a ransom of 4.5 million Naira before releasing them. The suspect is currently cooperating with the police to arrest the other gang members at large.”

“On 12th November 2024, Operation Fushin Kada personnel led by the Commander SP Usman Namai Bindiga acting on credible technical intelligence, successfully arrested four members of a high-profile kidnapping syndicate operating within Rahama Village, Dutsen Wai Village, and surrounding areas in Kaduna State. The team executed a decisive operation that led to the arrest of the following suspects: Yahaya Abdullahi, Shamsu Ibrahim, Linus Obasi and Hauwa Mohammed, All residents of Dutsen Wai Village, Kubau Local Government Area, Kaduna State.During interrogation, Yahaya Abdullahi confessed to conspiring with Shamsu Ibrahim to kidnap a female victim from Rahama Village. The victim was taken to Linus Obasi’s brothel, located in Gidan Dogo, Dutsen Wai Village, where she was handed over to Hauwa Mohammed, the caretaker of the hotel. The victim was held captive for four days until a ransom of three million Naira (₦3,000,000) was paid before the victim was released and reunited with her family. All the suspects were charged to court after the completion of preliminary investigations.”

” On 13th November, 2024, officers from Operation Fushin Kada acted on credible intelligence and successfully apprehended one Audu Abdullahi, a 27-year-old male, in Kujama, Kaduna. Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is a member of a notorious cattle rustling syndicate. During interrogation, he confessed to being part of a syndicate that frequently carries out operations using two AK-47 rifles and other dangerous weapons. Following his confession, a team of operatives conducted a search operation in a nearby bush, which led to the recovery of a locally made firearm and charms used by the gang. These achievements underscore the Kaduna State Police Command’s dedication to tackling crime and safeguarding lives and property. I wish to express my gratitude to the officers, men, and members of the public who continue to provide critical information leading to the successes we celebrate today.”

“I assure you that the Command will not relent in its efforts to maintain law and order across the state. We will continue to strengthen community policing and remain resolute in the fight against all forms of criminality.Thank you for your support and God bless you all.”