Kaduna: Police arrest 11 kidnap suspects, recover arms, cash
The Kaduna state police command Thursday arrested 11 suspected kidnappers and recovered a cache of arms, ammunition, and a cash sum of N908,600, following a directive from the Commissioner of Police to intensify efforts against bandits across the state.
In a statement by the command’s spokesperson, ASP Mansir Hassan, he said the arrests were linked to the abduction of a district head on August 14, 2024, who was released two days later.
ASP Hassan said operatives from Saminaka, in collaboration with local hunters, raided three villages in Lere local government area—Maraban Wasa, Gurzan Hakimi Mariri, and Abugan Kurama—on September 2.
Five suspects, including Abdulhamid Abubakar (30), Danjuma Luka (25), Ayuba Simon (50), and Idi Saleh (57), were arrested.
Items recovered from the suspects include one fabricated single-barrel gun, a green Golf vehicle, a Bajaj motorcycle, and eight mobile phones.
He added that in a separate operation on the same day, police laid an ambush at a motor park, intercepting a consignment containing four fabricated AK-47 rifles. Six suspects whom are Lawal Murtala, Isa Kabiru, Auwal Surajo, Kamala Lawal, Umar Adamu, and Kabiru Lima were arrested.
He stated that recovered items from the operation included four fabricated AK-47 rifles, two pump-action guns, two English pistols, 24 cartridges, 29 rounds of live ammunition, assorted charms, a walkie-talkie, an axe, and N908,600 in cash.
He added; “On September 3, police operatives arrested a suspected bandit, Yahaya Yusuf (41), at a hotel in the Tafa area of Kagarko local government area. Yusuf confessed to involvement in cattle rustling and kidnapping in Niger and Kaduna states. A Tecno phone was recovered from him.”
