FCT Police Detain Kidnap Informant and Four Others During Anti‑Banditry Operation

By Kingsley Omonobi

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has detained a suspected informant believed to be connected to kidnapping gangs, along with four additional suspects, as part of its ongoing campaign against criminal networks involved in kidnapping and banditry within the territory.

Commissioner of Police Ahmed Sanusi announced that the arrests followed an anti‑kidnapping and rescue operation carried out in the Paze–Byazhin area of the FCT on 9 June 2026.

He added that a subsequent operation on 11 June led to a raid on a suspected hideout for kidnapping and banditry in the same area, where four suspects—Yahaya Abdullahi, Muhammed Yunusa, Hauwa Shafiu and Shamsudeen Mustapha—were apprehended.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects are part of a criminal network reportedly active in kidnapping and banditry activities within and around the FCT.

Investigators claim that members of the group had infiltrated local communities, allowing them to gather intelligence and coordinate attacks on targeted individuals and locations.

Hauwa Shafiu, one of the suspects, is alleged to have supplied logistics such as food to members of the criminal group and their hostages. Police noted that she was heavily pregnant at the time of her arrest and gave birth while in custody; medical care was provided to both mother and child.

Items seized during the operation included four motorcycles, a quantity of tramadol tablets, N320,000 in cash, five mobile phones, a point‑of‑sale (POS) machine and cooking utensils.

Sanusi credited the operation’s success to information supplied by residents and urged the public to continue offering timely and credible intelligence to security agencies.

He emphasized that security is a collective responsibility and called for sustained cooperation between residents and law‑enforcement agencies to improve safety across the FCT.

Investigations remain ongoing.

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