Abuja recorded no fewer than 300 cases of kidnapping, armed robbery and other crimes between October and December 2025, resulting in the deaths of six police officers and nine suspected criminals, the Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, CP Miller G. Dantawaye, has disclosed.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, Dantawaye said the cases led to the arrest of 160 suspects and the rescue of 32 victims across different crime fronts within the three-month period under review.
According to him, nine armed suspects were killed during gun duels with police operatives, while six officers “paid the supreme price in the line of duty.”
The CP revealed that seven kidnapping cases were recorded during the period, with 41 suspects arrested. He said several kidnapping gangs operating within and around the FCT were dismantled through intelligence-led operations, forest combing exercises and joint actions with sister security agencies.
Armed robbery incidents, he said, stood at 62, leading to the arrest of 38 suspects and the recovery of firearms and live ammunition, while cases of “one-chance” robbery totalled 26, with 12 suspects arrested following sustained surveillance, stop-and-search operations and targeted raids.
Dantawaye also disclosed that 35 cases of car theft and vehicle snatching were recorded, with 11 suspects arrested and 20 stolen vehicles recovered within and outside the FCT. He added that arrests were equally made in cases of homicide, cultism, drug-related offences, illegal possession of firearms, cybercrime and other violent crimes, with 120 suspects apprehended across these categories.
He said a total of N15.45 million in cash, being proceeds of kidnapping, armed robbery, fraud and other crimes, was recovered during the operations.
The police boss listed recovered exhibits to include 21 AK-47 rifles, 10 shotguns, one K2 rifle, 37 locally made pistols, 31 locally fabricated firearms, 1,700 rounds of live ammunition of various calibres, 14 vehicles linked to criminal activities, as well as knives, cutlasses, communication devices, illicit drugs, motorcycles and other dangerous weapons.
Dantawaye noted that the FCT’s status as the nation’s political and diplomatic capital, sharing boundaries with Niger, Kaduna, Kogi and Nasarawa states, attracts people of diverse backgrounds, including criminal elements seeking to exploit its strategic importance.
“Since my assumption of duty in October 2025, the Command has undertaken a comprehensive review of the security situation across the six Area Councils of the FCT,” he said, adding that the assessment identified kidnapping, armed robbery, ‘one-chance’ robbery, car theft and drug-related offences as key challenges.
He explained that, in line with the directives of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olukayode Adeolu Egbetokun, the Command adopted a focused, intelligence-driven approach anchored on crime analysis, hotspot mapping, inter-agency collaboration and continuous operational evaluation.
Looking ahead, the CP said the Command would intensify community policing engagements, deepen intelligence-led policing, sustain targeted clearance operations, strengthen inter-agency collaboration and expand public enlightenment initiatives to tackle evolving security challenges in the FCT.
