THE Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has rescued five kidnap victims and neutralised five suspected kidnappers in Kebbi and Abia states.
The NPF in a statement by its spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, early Tuesday morning said the police recorded the success in its continuous efforts to bolster internal security and protect the lives and property of citizens.
The Force said in addition to the rescue of the kidnapped victims, it also decimated a notorious kidnapping gang and recovered arms and ammunition.
“In Kebbi State, it will be recalled that on 27th July, 2025, a group of armed kidnappers stormed Sangara Village in Shanga Local Government Area and abducted three (3) individuals: Muhammad Nasamu Namata, aged 25; Gide Namata, aged 20; and Hamidu Alhaji Namani, aged 35.
“Intensifying rescue efforts, police operatives alongside other security agencies and local vigilantes launched a coordinated search-and-rescue mission, which led them to Shanga Hills, where the kidnappers were tracked and engaged,” the NPF said.
The police said during the encounter, the criminals were overwhelmed in a fierce gun duel and fled into the forest with various degrees of gunshot wounds leading to the successful rescue of the three kidnapped victims.
In a separate operation in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of the state, on August, 15, 2025, the Force said its operatives attached to the State Command on routine patrol around Dankade Village in Ribah District encountered a group of armed bandits and engaged them in a gun duel.
The police said in the encounter, two of the victims, Tukur Bello, aged 26, and Isyaka Abubakar, aged 25, were rescued unhurt.
They were kidnapped on August, 9, while grazing their cattle in Gairi Forest, Zamfara State.
According to the statement, they have since been reunited with their families shortly.
Meanwhile, in Abia State, the police said their operatives acting on credible intelligence stormed a kidnappers’ den at Umuiku Obete Village in Ukwa West LGA.
“The criminal gang, which had been terrorising residents and commuters along Umuozo Village and Uratta Road, off Port Harcourt Road, engaged the operatives in a gun duel upon sighting them.
“However, the superior firepower of the operatives proved decisive, resulting in the neutralisation of five members of the notorious gang.”
The NPF said a thorough search of the scene led to the recovery of 6 AK-47 rifles, 335 rounds of live ammunition, 14 magazines, five handsets, three cutlasses, five operational jackets, an axe and a pair of boots.
Other items recovered include one polo charm, and one double-barreled long gun.
It added that follow-up operations were ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the gang.
The Inspector-General of Police, (IGP) Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun has commended the commitment of the officers involved in the operations. He urged them to sustain the tempo and intensify the ongoing onslaught against criminals across the nation.
The IGP assured the public of the continued resolve of the police to combat crime in all forms and to maintain law and order across the country.
The ICIR reported last week that the police recorded success when operatives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, attached to Mpape Division, arrested three suspects in connection with the murder of Azubuko Nwakama, also known as Joel Waksi, a journalist with Liberty Radio.
Nwakama was attacked, robbed and killed on June, 14 2024, at Panteka Market, Mpape, Abuja.
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