Police nab 30 kidnap suspects in Kaduna crackdown

The Kaduna State Police Command said it had arrested 30 suspected kidnappers and recovered firearms and stolen vehicles in April 2026. Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Muhammad, disclosed this during a press briefing in Kaduna, noting that the command’s sustained intelligence-led operations have significantly disrupted criminal activities across the state. He said the command also arrested […]

The Kaduna State Police Command said it had arrested 30 suspected kidnappers and recovered firearms and stolen vehicles in April 2026.
Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Muhammad, disclosed this during a press briefing in Kaduna, noting that the command’s sustained intelligence-led operations have significantly disrupted criminal activities across the state.
He said the command also arrested four suspected gunrunners and recovered five firearms, including an anti-riot gun, alongside ammunition.
According to him, six suspected car thieves were equally apprehended, while four stolen vehicles were recovered during the period under review.
Muhammad explained that the achievements were a result of proactive policing strategies, coordinated patrols and tactical operations targeted at kidnapping, armed robbery, gunrunning and vehicle theft.
Highlighting key operations, the police boss said operatives engaged suspected bandits along the Kaduna–Abuja Expressway on April 16 following credible intelligence.
The suspects reportedly fled with gunshot wounds, abandoning an AK-47 rifle and ammunition.
In another development, the command rescued a seven-year-old boy kidnapped in Anchau, Kubau Local Government Area.
Police operatives tracked the suspects to Soba Local Government Area, where the child was rescued, while a suspect was later arrested in Katsina State.
“The suspect has confessed and is assisting in ongoing investigations,” the commissioner said.
The command also recorded breakthroughs in tackling vehicle theft. On April 5, detectives arrested a suspect in Zaria found with a stolen Toyota Corolla and later recovered another vehicle linked to him. Further investigations led to the arrest of an accomplice in Kano State.
Similarly, police dismantled a suspected car theft syndicate in the Mando area, arresting three suspects and recovering an unregistered vehicle believed to be stolen.
In separate operations, officers recovered an anti-riot gun and cartridges abandoned by a fleeing suspect at Kawo Flyover, while another suspect was arrested with a locally fabricated AK-47 rifle in Kurmin Zaki.