The Kaduna State Police Command says it has made significant arrests and recovered weapons and other exhibits in operations targeting banditry, armed robbery, drug trafficking and other crimes across the state in the past month.
The Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Muhammad, disclosed this during a press briefing at the command headquarters in Kaduna, saying the operations reflected a stronger focus on intelligence-led policing and collaboration with local communities and sister security agencies.
One of the major operations took place on 25 August at Yan’Karfe Motor Park in Zaria, where operatives of the Sabon Gari Division responded to a distress call about a man allegedly struggling with a sack of potatoes.
The police said a search of the sack uncovered two AK-49 rifles, 228 rounds of RPG ammunition, 275 rounds of 7.62mm AK-47 ammunition, five AK-47 magazines and quantities of suspected illicit drugs.
The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Kenneth from Delta State, was arrested and remains in police custody, according to the command.
A day earlier, on 24 August, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit arrested three suspected bandits at Audu Jangwam along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway following what the police described as credible intelligence.
The suspects were identified as Ibrahim Muhammad, alias Alti, 25, from Adamawa State; Usman Tukur, alias Mallam, 27, from Zamfara State; and Hassan Alhaji Salisu, alias Tagwaye, 23, from Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The command said the suspects confessed during interrogation to operating in Millennium City and other parts of Kaduna’s outskirts.
Police also reported the arrest of Gideon Martins, 32, of Jay-Jay Street, Sabon Tasha, on 22 July. A search of his residence allegedly produced a locally made double-barrel gun, a handcuff, a live 9mm round, two cartridges, a point-of-sale machine, a drilling machine and assorted security uniforms.
In another operation on 25 August, officers conducting stop-and-search operations along Kachia Road intercepted a motorcyclist carrying a sack containing 134 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition.
According to the police, the rider told investigators that he was transporting the ammunition on the instructions of a suspected bandit known as Yellow Mai-million.
On 15 August, police operatives along the Zaria-Kano Expressway also intercepted what the command described as a suspected cannabis consignment.
The police said several men were seen loading items into an unregistered Volkswagen Golf but fled when they noticed the officers, abandoning 11 sacks of dried leaves suspected to be cannabis. A manhunt for the suspects is ongoing.
Suspected robbery, rape syndicate arrested
The command, working with security personnel from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), said it had dismantled a suspected syndicate linked to armed robbery and sexual assaults in communities around the university.
Three suspects were arrested on 15 August following distress calls from Rafin Tukurwa Village.
They were identified as Jamilu Yau, alias Jagwa, 20; Abdullahi Hamisu, alias Maikudi Santsi, 25; both of Tudun Natsira; and Sani Abubakar, alias Gaye, 20, of Rafin Tukurwa.
The police said Jagwa and Gaye confessed to several attacks in Gidan Kira, Magata and Gidan Maranta villages, where victims were allegedly robbed at knifepoint and sexually assaulted.
According to the command, the suspects claimed they used a “grave stick” charm allegedly supplied by Maikudi Santsi. Police said additional victims and village heads had since reported similar allegations against the suspect.
In Kajuru Local Government Area, police arrested 27-year-old Barnabas Amale of Iburu Village on 19 August following an alleged attempt to steal a mobile phone from farmers in Idon-Gida.
The police said Amale threatened the victims with a pistol and that further investigation linked him to 37-year-old Victor Patrick, who allegedly obtained the firearm from a man identified as Oyou Movel, who remains at large.
Government vehicle recovered
The command also recovered a white Toyota Hilux belonging to the Kaduna State Water Board after it was reported stolen from Ungwan Rimi on 18 August.
Police said the vehicle was tracked to Kano State, where the suspected thieves abandoned it before escaping.
On 26 August, officers arrested Abdullahi Abubakar and Shehu Sani, both from Makera in Kajuru Local Government Area, over an alleged armed robbery and vandalism at the Infectious Disease Centre in Mando.
According to the command, the suspects scaled the facility’s fence, tied up five security guards and vandalised a transformer.
Muhammad said the Metropolitan Area Command and the Task Force had intensified patrols and raids on suspected criminal hideouts to disrupt the movement and logistics of bandits, kidnappers and armed robbers.
He condemned attacks on public infrastructure, describing them as a threat to public health and safety, and urged residents to protect government facilities in their communities and provide the police with timely information.
The commissioner also appealed to the judiciary to allow the police to parade suspects arrested with criminal exhibits, arguing that such public displays could deter crime and help communities understand the command’s efforts.
Muhammad thanked the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, and Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, for their support, while commending residents for providing information that contributed to the arrests.
He said all suspects would be charged to court after investigations had been concluded.
