Police Rescue 7 Kidnap Victims, Neutralize 5 Bandits In Nationwide Operations
By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
The Nigeria Police Force has recorded a string of operational successes across 10 states, rescuing kidnapped victims, neutralizing suspected bandits, arresting criminal suspects and recovering firearms, ammunition and other exhibits in intelligence-led operations conducted between August 27 and 31, 2026.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu,stated on Monday that the operations resulted in the rescue of victims in Ogun, Kano, Taraba, Plateau and other states, while five suspected bandits were neutralized in Ogun and Sokoto. Police teams also recovered AK-47 rifles, locally fabricated firearms, ammunition, rustled cattle, a vehicle and other criminal exhibits.
The state-by-state executive summary is a periodic operational update issued by the Force to provide an overview of policing activities and results recorded across various commands. It captures major interventions, including counter-kidnapping and anti-banditry operations, arrests, rescues, recovery of weapons and ammunition, and other crime-fighting activities, while ongoing investigations are handled by the respective State Criminal Investigation Departments (SCIDs).
In Ogun, police rescued kidnapped victim Usman Umar after combing a forest and subsequently neutralized two suspected kidnappers during a gun battle, recovering two AK-47 rifles and 25 rounds of ammunition. In Sokoto, tactical teams intercepted bandits heading towards Maikujera Village, neutralizing three and recovering an AK-47 rifle and 22 rounds of ammunition. In Kano, police rescued abducted Alh Yusif Nadabo, although three other victims injured during the attack later died.
Other operations saw the rescue of a 55-year-old woman and her granddaughter in Taraba, Pastor Dipat Gabriel Joseph in Plateau, and the recovery of five rustled cows in Katsina. Police also arrested suspected armed robbers and kidnappers in Lagos and Oyo, recovered firearms and ammunition in Abia, Delta and Kaduna, arrested suspected drug dealers in Akwa Ibom, and apprehended a suspect in a culpable homicide case in Ogun.
The Force said investigations and search operations remain ongoing in several of the cases, particularly efforts to apprehend fleeing suspects, members of criminal syndicates and perpetrators behind outstanding kidnapping incidents.
