Police have dismantled a suspected kidnapping support network operating along the FCT-Kaduna-Niger border after arresting four alleged logistics providers accused of supplying food, medical aid and intelligence to bandits, authorities said. The suspects were arrested during a follow-up tactical operation led by the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Ahmed Muhammed……
Police have dismantled a suspected kidnapping support network operating along the FCT-Kaduna-Niger border after arresting four alleged logistics providers accused of supplying food, medical aid and intelligence to bandits, authorities said.
The suspects were arrested during a follow-up tactical operation led by the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi, on June 11, after an anti-kidnapping and rescue operation carried out in the Paze-Byazhin area on June 9.
The suspects were identified as Yahaya Abdullahi, Muhammed Yunusa, Hauwa Shafiu and Shamsudeen Mustapha.
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According to a statement by the spokesperson of the FCT Police Command, Josephine Adeh, on Monday, June 15, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were part of a coordinated criminal network providing support for kidnappers and bandits operating within the FCT and neighbouring states.
Investigators said the suspects confessed that the location served as a meeting point where armed bandits gathered to coordinate operations, share intelligence and plan attacks on intended targets.
The police further disclosed that the group supplied food, medical assistance, illicit drugs and other logistics to criminal elements operating in the area.
In a separate operation led by the police commissioner on June 15, security operatives raided the identified hideout and dismantled the camp.
The command said makeshift structures and storage facilities used by the suspects were destroyed, effectively disrupting the group’s operational base.
The police also revealed that one of the suspects, Hauwa Shafiu, allegedly served as a logistics supplier and cook for the criminal network and its captives.
According to the command, Shafiu was pregnant at the time of her arrest and has since delivered a baby while in custody.
The police said both the mother and child are receiving adequate medical care.
The command noted that investigations are ongoing and efforts have been intensified to identify and apprehend other members of the network as part of a broader operation to dismantle criminal groups operating across the region.
