The police have arrested two suspected bandit and kidnapping kingpins believed to be behind a string of violent crimes across Katsina, Zamfara, Niger and Kwara states, in what authorities described as a strategic breakthrough against organised crime.
The suspects, identified as Abubakar Usman and Shehu Mohammadu, were apprehended on December 19 along the Komen–Masallaci axis of Kaiama Local Government Area in Kwara State, following a covert intelligence-led operation.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the arrest was carried out by operatives of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team, working in collaboration with officers of the Kwara State Police Command.
Hundeyin disclosed that Usman had recently been identified as the individual captured in a viral social media video, where firearms and large sums of cash were brazenly displayed, allegedly proceeds of kidnapping and banditry operations.
According to the police, items recovered during the operation included a brand new red Honda Ace 125 motorcycle, valued at about N1.85 million, which investigators said was purchased with ransom proceeds. Also recovered were N500,000 in cash, described as unspent ransom money, and an AK-47 rifle with a magazine containing 20 rounds of live ammunition.
Preliminary investigations, the police said, revealed that the suspects are members of a notorious criminal syndicate terrorising several communities across the North-Central and North-West zones. The gang is also believed to be involved in the supply of arms and ammunition to other criminal elements operating within the region.
Hundeyin added that the suspects were cooperating with investigators, a development he said could lead to the arrest of other members of the gang and the recovery of additional weapons.
