The Kaduna State Police command has made significant progress in combating kidnapping, arresting 13 suspects and neutralizing four others in various locations across the state. These achievements resulted from the effective use of intelligence in crime prevention and control.
The command’s spokesperson, ASP Mansir Hassan, highlighted the success in investigations and the recovery of various exhibits during this period.
During these operations, the police successfully recovered, two AK47 rifles, three locally made fabricated revolver rifles, two motorcycles, 15 live cartridges, 115 live ammunition of 7.62mm caliber, four locally made guns, three bags containing dried leaves suspected to be cannabis, three types of mobile phones.
Furthermore, on May 5, 2023, police detectives from the State CID, Kaduna acted on a report regarding a kidnapping incident. Suspected kidnappers had invaded the residence of one Abubakar Yaro in Mamadi Layout, Rigachikun, Kaduna, and abducted his two children, eight-year-old Fatima Abubakar and six-year-old Abdulrahaman Abubakar. The Anti-Kidnapping Section of the State CID promptly launched an operation to locate and apprehend the kidnappers, resulting in several arrests.
“Auwal Saidu ‘m’ 22 years old, Junaidu Usman ‘m’ 25 years old, Jonathan Linus ‘m’ 21 years old and Muhammad Musa ‘m’ 35 years old were arrested,” he said.
He further stated that Auwal Saidu and Junaidu Usman were tracked and apprehended in the Asokoro area of FCT Abuja, while Jonathan Linus and Muhammad Musa were subsequently detained in Kaduna. All the suspects willingly confessed to their involvement in the crime and acknowledged receiving a ransom of N10 million from the complainant before releasing the victims.
“Further investigation however revealed that, the operation was masterminded by Auwal Saidu who is a security guard in the residence of the complainant and being the brain behind the whole operation, he (Auwal Saidu) was therefore given the sum of N6 million while N4 million was shared among the remaining kidnappers,” he said.
Additionally, in a press statement, he reported that the police apprehended 13 individuals for involvement in robbery and cult activities through the efforts of operatives stationed at the Divisional Headquarters Sabon Gari Zaria, Kaduna.
He further stated that the arrested suspects confessed to being affiliated with the Aiye confraternity and hailed from various higher educational institutions and regions across the country. They selected the Graceland area as their meeting point for initiation.
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Musa Yusuf Garba, has praised the diligent work of the operatives and urged the general public to promptly report any suspicious individuals or groups to the nearest police or security authorities.