Police arrested 17 kidnappers in Kaduna

In addition, eight guns made locally, 16 cartridges, three vehicles, and a motorcycle were recovered as a result of the arrests. The command’s Public Relations Officer, Mansir Hassan, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, said the arrests followed intelligence-led operations and painstaking investigations targeted at dismantling criminal networks terrorizing parts of Kaduna and neighboring states. 

 According to the police, one of the key arrests followed a robbery incident on June 30, 2025, when a 40-year-old commercial motorcyclist, Ismail Bello, was attacked and stabbed by a supposed passenger around LEA Primary School, Unguwan Gwari, Kaduna. Hassan explained that the suspect, Nura Auwal, was arrested by members of the Kawo Division's Surveillance Team after the incident was reported on July 8, 2025. 

The suspect had reportedly stabbed the victim in the head and stomach before fleeing with his motorcycle, but it was recovered during the arrest. The statement read, 

"The suspect is currently in custody and will be charged in court upon completion of the investigation." In a separate operation, Hassan stated that operatives on June 19, 2025, arrested two suspects, Sanusi Bala from Zamfara State and Nura Bala from Zaria, at Kano Road, Kaduna, while attempting to rob a victim of his tricycle. 

 “The suspects confessed to being members of a syndicate known for targeting commercial tricycle riders and dispossessing them of their tricycles,” Hassan said, adding that investigations linked them to Jamilu Zurmi of Zamfara State, identified as a major receiver of the stolen tricycles. He added that further police operations led to the recovery of three Golf III vehicles believed to be linked to the syndicate: 

“A dark blue Golf III Wagon with registration number ABC-152-AL; A green Golf III Wagon with registration number ABJ-900-RE; An unregistered dark blue Golf III Wagon.” Hassan noted that efforts are ongoing to apprehend other accomplices. In another breakthrough on June 4, 2025, the police arrested five armed robbery suspects linked to cross-border criminal activities. 

The suspects, Ahmed Umar, Isah Musa, Zailani Sa’adu, Abdulrahman Mukhtar and Ibrahim Bala, were said to have invaded a residence in Ungwan Sanusi, Kaduna, where they dispossessed a victim of his Toyota Corolla and other valuables. 

 He added that further investigations revealed that the stolen vehicle was sold to one Alhaji Garba Yaro, said to be at large and residing in Maradi, Niger Republic. According to police intelligence, Yaro was "a known receiver of robbed vehicles" and associated with various international criminal syndicates. Hassan stated, "Efforts are ongoing to track down their fleeing accomplices and dismantle the wider network.

The arrested suspects are currently in custody. In a similar vein, Hassan stated that on July 7, 2025, anti-kidnapping agents based on reliable information stormed Kwatakore via Nasarawan Doya Village in Makarfi Local Government Area and detained Rabilu Lawal, Sirajo Shuaibu, and Shehu Sarki. 

He said during the operation, the police recovered two locally made guns and two live cartridges while noting that investigations revealed that the “suspects were allegedly involved in the kidnapping of the wife of a local resident.” In a related development, the police spokesman also said operatives from the Makarfi Divisional Headquarters arrested four suspects on July 11, 2025, over illegal firearm fabrication in Giroji, Makarfi LGA. 

 “Three locally fabricated rifles; three incomplete skeletal rifle frames; 14 cartridges; five rounds of live T.06 ammunition; one bench vice machine, filing machine, welding machine, binding wires, and assorted iron and metal pipes as well as a bunch of keys” were found in the possession of the arrested suspects, who he identified as Hassan Ibrahim, Murtala Yakubu, Shuaibu Abubakar, and Ismail Shuaibu. “The suspects are currently in custody and undergoing further investigation,” the police spokesman said.