August 26, 2025

Recent operations by the Nigeria Police Force in Kebbi and Abia States, have led to the successful rescue of five (5) kidnapped victims, the decimation of a notorious kidnapping gang, and the recovery of arms and ammunition.

In a statement by the Force PRO Olumuyiwa Adejobi on Tuesday, 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.

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 (3) kidnapped victims.

In a separate operation in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, on 15th August, 2025, police 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.

Two victims, Tukur Bello, aged 26, and Isyaka Abubakar, aged 25, were rescued unhurt. The duo were kidnapped on 9th August, 2025, while grazing their cattle in Gairi Forest, Zamfara State. They have since been reunited with their families shortly.

Meanwhile, in Abia State, Police operatives acting on credible intelligence stormed a kidnappers’ den at Umuiku Obete Village in Ukwa West LGA.

The criminal gang, which had been terrorizing 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 neutralization of five members of the notorious gang.

A thorough search of the scene led to the recovery of 6 AK-47 rifles, 335 rounds of live ammunition, 14 magazines, 5 handsets, 3 cutlasses, 5 operational jackets, an axe, a pair of boots, 1 polo charm, and 1 double-barreled long gun. Follow-up operations are ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the gang.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, has lauded the commitment of the officers involved in the operations urging them to sustain the tempo and intensify the ongoing onslaught against criminal actors across the nation.

The IGP has again assured members of the public of the continued resolve of the Force to combating crime in all forms and to maintain law and order across the country.