THE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested some notorious kidnappers in the nation’s capital and recovered N9 million ransom from their custody.
The FCT Police Commissioner (CP), Benneth Igweh, revealed this while parading the suspects at the command headquarters on Wednesday, February 14.
Igwe said agents of the Utako Police Division under the command of Victor Godfrey apprehended the abductors in a concerted operation at Tudun – Wada Lugbe and Pyakasa area of Trademore in the city.
He listed the abductors as Rabi Sani from Safana, Katsina state; Usman Muazu from Kwali, FCT; Aliyu Mohammed from Pumpomare area of Borno state; Awwal Dahiru from Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT; and Madina Abubakar from Gulu, Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State.
Others are Mariji Iliya from Mangu, Plateau State; Jonah Elimelech from Kauru, Kaduna State; and Saminu Idris from Kauru, Kaduna State.
He said all the suspects admitted to their crimes and were providing useful information that would lead to the arrest of other gang members.
The CP claimed that the suspects were connected to major kidnapping incidents in the FCT and its surrounding states.
He stated that further items found on them include charms, knives, cutlasses, and bulletproof vests.
Igweh further revealed that police operatives from Trademore, Galadimawa, Maitama, and Gwagwalada in the FCT also apprehended 79 suspected criminals during operations in several black areas.
However, he clarified that the operation, which involved raiding uncompleted buildings and recovering what seemed to be Indian hemp and some illegal substances from the suspects, was a component of the command’s attempts to purge the FCT of criminal activity.
“And we speak, the suspects who have been profiled are in custody undergoing interrogation at respective division, while those found wanting will be charged to court,” the CP stated.
Several cases of abduction, one-chance and other criminal activities have made the FCT unsafe for months.
The ICIR, in a report, revealed that some residents of the FCT, especially those within the Bwari Area Council, were abandoning their homes to escape being kidnapped by bandits who seem to be taking over the city in a recent wave of abductions.
The ICIR reports that Nigeria has continued to grapple with cases of insecurity, with many citizens reported dead and over 380 persons kidnapped between December 1, 2023, and January 3, 2024, across the country under President Bola Tinubu’s watch.
A reporter with the ICIR
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