The Nigeria Police Force has intensified its nationwide war against crime, arresting 112 suspects, rescuing kidnapped victims and recovering firearms, ammunition and a stolen vehicle during coordinated operations across 13 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The intelligence-driven operations targeted criminal gangs involved in kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism, homicide, banditry, sexual offences and drug trafficking.
The latest operational figures were contained in the police daily incident report released on Saturday, highlighting the Force’s sustained efforts to combat rising insecurity across the country.
The operations covered the FCT, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Oyo, Kebbi, Ogun, Benue, Sokoto, Anambra, Katsina, Kwara, Jigawa and Edo states.
The FCT recorded the highest number of arrests, with police operatives from 11 divisions raiding criminal hideouts, abandoned buildings and other black spots across Abuja. The operation led to the arrest of 87 suspects, while quantities of suspected cannabis, illicit drugs and knives were recovered.
In Delta State, police stormed a suspected cult hideout in Amukpe, Sapele Local Government Area, arresting eight suspected cultists, including two women. Recovered from the suspects were three locally-made pistols, six live cartridges, eight rounds of ammunition, two axes and drug-related items.
The command also arrested a 36-year-old man accused of repeatedly defiling an 11-year-old schoolgirl. The victim has been taken for medical treatment while investigations continue.
Akwa Ibom Police Command arrested four suspects over the killing of 21-year-old Emmanuel Iboro Effiong and later exhumed the victim’s body from a shallow grave hidden in a forest.
Another four suspects were arrested during anti-drug operations in the state, bringing the total number of arrests there to eight.
In Oyo State, police arrested three suspected armed robbers shortly after they allegedly attacked a residence in Agugu, Ibadan, and carted away mobile phones valued at about ₦650,000. Two cutlasses and two saws believed to have been used during the robbery were recovered.
Police also launched an investigation into the killing of a man found with multiple machete cuts in Agbede Village, Iseyin area.
In Kebbi State, security operatives responded to a kidnapping attack in which the Director of Personnel Management of Yauri Local Government Area, Alhaji Nasiru Mohammed, was killed while his wife was abducted.
During follow-up operations, one suspected kidnapper was shot dead after attempting to escape through a police roadblock. Officers recovered three mobile phones, an axe and several documents from the suspects’ vehicle.
Ogun State Police Command arrested two suspects in separate cases involving the alleged defilement of two 13-year-old girls, including one involving a Chinese national. Police also recovered a stolen Toyota Sienna vehicle.
In Benue State, police, with the support of local residents, repelled an attack by armed bandits on Anyiase Community in Kwande Local Government Area, while another suspect linked to the July 12 attack on the Otukpo-Nobi Road was arrested.
Sokoto State Police Command rescued two kidnapped victims unhurt after engaging suspected bandits during an operation in Wamako Local Government Area.
In Anambra State, police arrested three suspects accused of abducting female Point-of-Sale operators and extorting about ₦3.9 million from one of the victims. Investigations have also commenced into the death of a 12-year-old student in Adazi-Ani.
Katsina Police Command arrested three members of a local vigilante group over the fatal shooting of a 42-year-old man during a debt-related dispute, an incident that sparked protests by youths who set two vigilante motorcycles ablaze.
Outside crime-related incidents, 11 people died in a fatal road accident involving a container truck and an 18-seater commercial bus along the Niger-Kwara border, while nine others sustained injuries.
In Jigawa State, two police officers were seriously injured after they were attacked by two motorcycle-riding suspects armed with cutlasses during patrol.
Meanwhile, prompt intervention by police and emergency responders prevented a major disaster after a gas explosion at the Federal Government Gas Plant Project in Ogan Community, Edo State. Authorities confirmed that no life was lost and no property was damaged.
The police said the nationwide operations led to the arrest of 112 suspects, recovery of three firearms, 14 rounds of ammunition and one stolen vehicle, rescue of two kidnapped victims, and the neutralisation of one suspected kidnapper.
The Force added that the operations also addressed six homicide investigations, three armed robbery cases, three cult-related cases, three gender-based violence incidents, two kidnapping cases and three banditry attacks as part of ongoing efforts to improve public safety across the country.
