Police arrest 12 suspects, rescue 7 kidnap victims in Niger

The police in Niger State recently arrested 12 suspects for various crimes including armed robbery, vehicle theft and kidnapping, and rescued seven abducted victims. The spokesman for the command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, in a statement, said on May 4, 2025, operatives of the Tafa Police Division arrested one Umar Mukhtar, 25, Shuaibu Ahmed, 30, both […]

The police in Niger State recently arrested 12 suspects for various crimes including armed robbery, vehicle theft and kidnapping, and rescued seven abducted victims.

The spokesman for the command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, in a statement, said on May 4, 2025, operatives of the Tafa Police Division arrested one Umar Mukhtar, 25, Shuaibu Ahmed, 30, both of Okada Road, Minna, and Mohammed Ibrahim Abba, 25, of Tafa, Kaduna State, at Dikko junction in possession of a suspected stolen white Toyota Camry car.

He said one of the suspects, Mukhtar, confessed that they were led by an accomplice identified as Mustapha in a robbery operation in Bosso Estate, Minna, on May 3, 2025.

Abiodun revealed that, armed with a toy gun and screwdrivers, the gang attacked a residence and made away with the victim’s vehicle, locking the occupants in the toilet to prevent them from raising an alarm.

He said the suspects were en-route to Kaduna to sell the vehicle when they were apprehended.

Abiodun also said the police operatives have arrested one Abdulaziz Salisu, 19, and Abubakar Mohammed for allegedly stealing a tricycle from a mosque in Dakwa during morning prayers.

He said the stolen vehicle was intercepted during a stop-and-search at Maje bridge.

In a similar development, he said the police arrested a 16-year-old suspect, Mubarak Mohammed, following a robbery at APC Quarters, Suleja.

The suspect was said to have led the police to arrest six other gang members, Ibrahim Mohammed (20), Abdullahi Yakubu (18), Mohammed Abubakar (18), Nasiru Musa (17), Shamsudeen Musa (18), and Ahmed Ali—all from Galadima area of Abuja.

Abiodun, the police spokesman, said six cutlasses, three torchlights, charms, 14 handsets, and four bags were recovered from the gang’s hideout along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway.

Meanwhile, seven victims abducted at Tungan-Boka and Masaha villages in Mashegu LGA of the state have been rescued.

Wasiu Abiodun said the victims were rescued by a joint team of police and local vigilantes.

He said the operation followed a deadly attack in which a victim, Garba Mohammed, was fatally shot. The rescue team engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle, forcing them to flee, leaving the hostages unharmed.