FCT Police raid Abuja hideout, arrest pregnant suspect and three others involved in kidnapping plot

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command announced the arrest of at least four suspects in a recent operation aimed at curbing banditry.

Commissioner of Police Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi briefed reporters in Abuja on Monday about the latest development.

Earlier this month, a video of the CP leading a counter‑kidnapping effort in the Byazhin area went viral on social media.

In a detailed update, the CP explained that a follow‑up operation was carried out in the Paze Byazhin area after the initial anti‑kidnapping and rescue mission he directed.

On June 11, he and other officers stormed a suspected banditry and kidnapping hideout in the same area and arrested four individuals: Yahaya Abdullahi, Muhammed Yunusa, Hauwa Shafiu and Shamsudeen Mustapha.

The CP said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects belong to a criminal network involved in kidnapping and banditry activities within and around the FCT.

Further investigations showed that the group had infiltrated the local community, allowing them to gather intelligence and coordinate repeated attacks on targeted persons and locations.

One suspect, Hauwa Shafiu, who served as a logistics supplier and cook for the gang and its hostages, was heavily pregnant at the time of her arrest.

She later delivered a healthy baby while in police custody, and both mother and child received adequate medical care.

Items seized from the suspects included four motorcycles, thirty‑one 500‑mg tramadol tablets, ten 50‑mg tramadol tablets, 320,000 naira in cash, five phones, one POS machine and several cooking utensils.