The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested four suspected kidnap informants and logistics suppliers linked to banditry activities in parts of Abuja.
Key Highlights:
- Police arrested four suspected kidnap informants in the FCT.
- Weapons, drugs, cash, phones, and motorcycles were recovered.
- A woman allegedly held in chains for over a year was rescued.
- Her brother was arrested over the confinement.
- Police are searching for her missing son.
The Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed this on Monday, during a press briefing at the command’s headquarters in Abuja.
Sanusi said the arrests followed a follow-up operation carried out on June 11 in the Paze–Byazhin area after an anti-kidnapping and rescue operation conducted on June 9.
According to him, operatives stormed a suspected kidnapping and banditry hideout in the area and arrested Yahaya Abdullahi, Muhammed Yunusa, Hauwa Shafiu and Shamsudeen Mustapha.
The police commissioner said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspects belonged to a criminal network involved in kidnapping and banditry activities within and around the FCT.
He explained that members of the group had allegedly infiltrated local communities to gather intelligence and coordinate attacks on targeted individuals and locations.
“One of the suspects, Hauwa Shafiu, served as a logistics supplier and cook for the criminal gang and their hostages,” he said.
Sanusi revealed that Shafiu was heavily pregnant at the time of her arrest and later delivered a baby while in police custody.
He said both mother and child received adequate medical care.
Items recovered from the suspects include four motorcycles, 41 tablets of tramadol of varying strengths, N320,000 cash, five mobile phones, a Point of Sale (POS) machine and cooking utensils.
In a separate development, the police rescued a 36-year-old woman, Grace Aniekuoku, who was allegedly chained and locked up by her brother for more than one year.
Sanusi said the command received a distress report on June 12, indicating that the victim, an indigene of Anambra State, was being held captive under inhumane conditions by her brother, Chinedu Aniekuoku.
The commissioner said detectives from the Katampe Division were immediately deployed to the scene. According to him, the suspect resisted police officers and initially denied them access to the premises.
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The officers, however, forced entry into the room where the victim was found chained, severely emaciated and living in unsanitary conditions.
“The victim was discovered in chains, in an extremely emaciated condition and in her own physical waste,” Sanusi said.
He added that the suspect was arrested while the victim was rushed to a hospital, where she is currently receiving treatment.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim’s son was allegedly taken away to an unknown location about two years ago.
Police suspect that the confinement was intended to prevent the woman from raising questions about the whereabouts of her child.
Sanusi said efforts were ongoing to trace and rescue the missing child, while the suspect would be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
The commissioner attributed the successes recorded by the command to information provided by residents and urged members of the public to continue supporting security agencies with credible intelligence.
He reiterated that security remains a collective responsibility and called for sustained collaboration between citizens and law enforcement agencies to combat crime across the FCT.
