Law Enforcement Detains 112 Individuals, Frees Abducted Persons, Seizes Firearms in Sweeping Nationwide Operation

The Nigeria Police Force has achieved significant operational successes across 13 states and the Federal Capital Territory, resulting in the arrest of 112 suspects and the rescue of kidnapped victims, as well as the recovery of firearms, ammunition, and disruption of criminal activities in coordinated nationwide operations.

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These operations, which targeted various crimes including cultism, armed robbery, kidnapping, homicide, banditry, sexual offences, and drug-related crimes, led to the recovery of a stolen vehicle, illicit substances, and the neutralisation of a suspected kidnapper.

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A situation report from the Force Headquarters revealed that the FCT Police Command recorded the highest number of arrests, with 87 suspects apprehended and illicit substances, including suspected Indian hemp, and knives recovered, following coordinated raids by operatives from 11 divisions across Abuja.

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The FCT operations focused on criminal hideouts, abandoned buildings, and black spots, resulting in the arrest of 87 suspects and the recovery of suspected Indian hemp, illicit drugs, and knives.

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In Delta State, police operatives raided a suspected cult hideout in Amukpe, Sapele Local Government Area, arresting eight suspected cult members, including two women, and recovering items such as three locally fabricated pistols, six live cartridges, and eight rounds of assorted ammunition.

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Additionally, the Delta State command arrested a 36-year-old suspect for alleged repeated defilement of an 11-year-old primary school pupil, who has been taken for medical examination.

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In Akwa Ibom State, police arrested four suspects over the alleged killing of 21-year-old Emmanuel Iboro Effiong, following a viral video showing him being assaulted over alleged poultry theft, and later exhumed the victim’s body from a shallow grave in a forest.

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Separate anti-drug operations in Oruk Anam and Nkana villages led to the arrest of four more suspects with suspected cannabis, bringing the total number of arrests in the state to eight.

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In Oyo State, three suspected armed robbers were arrested shortly after allegedly invading a residence in Agugu, Ibadan, where they reportedly dispossessed occupants of mobile phones worth about N650,000, and police recovered two cutlasses and two saws from the suspects.

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Investigations also commenced into the killing of a man found with multiple machete wounds in the Agbede Village area of Iseyin, in Oyo State.

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Kebbi State recorded a major security incident after kidnappers killed the Director of Personnel Management of Yauri Local Government Area, Alhaji Nasiru Mohammed, and abducted his wife, and during a follow-up operation, a suspected kidnapper was fatally injured while attempting to evade a police roadblock.

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Officers recovered three mobile phones, an axe, and documents from the suspects’ vehicle in Kebbi State.

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In Ogun State, police arrested two suspects in separate cases involving the alleged defilement of two 13-year-old girls, including one case involving a Chinese national, and both victims were taken for medical examination.

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A Toyota Sienna vehicle earlier reported stolen was recovered in Ogun State.

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In Benue State, police repelled an attack by armed bandits on Anyiase Community in Kwande Local Government Area with support from local youths, although one civilian sustained a stray bullet injury.

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The command also arrested a suspect linked to the July 12 attack along the Otukpo-Nobi Road in Benue State.

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Sokoto State Police Command rescued two kidnapped victims unhurt after operatives engaged armed bandits in a gun battle in Wamako Local Government Area.

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In Anambra State, police commenced investigations into the death of a 12-year-old student allegedly beaten by a teacher at a secondary school in Adazi-Ani.

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The command also arrested three suspects accused of abducting female Point-of-Sale operators and allegedly defrauding one victim of N3.9 million in Anambra State.

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Katsina State Police Command arrested three local vigilante members over the alleged fatal shooting of a 42-year-old man during an attempted arrest linked to a debt dispute.

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The incident triggered a protest by youths, who reportedly set two vigilante motorcycles ablaze before normalcy was restored in Katsina State.

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In Kwara State, 11 people were killed while nine others sustained injuries in a head-on collision involving a container truck and an 18-seater commercial bus along the Niger-Kwara border.

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Jigawa State recorded an attack on police officers during patrol, with two officers sustaining serious injuries after being assaulted with cutlasses by two motorcycle-riding suspects.

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The attackers fled, abandoning a cow suspected to have been stolen in Jigawa State.

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Meanwhile, police and emergency responders in Edo State prevented a major disaster after a gas explosion at the Federal Government Gas Plant Project in Ogan Community, Orhionmwon Local Government Area, with no casualty or property damage recorded.

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According to the nationwide operational summary, the police arrested 112 suspects, recovered three firearms, 14 rounds of ammunition, and one stolen vehicle, rescued two kidnapped victims, and neutralised one suspected kidnapper.

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The operations covered investigations into six homicide cases, three armed robbery incidents, three cultism cases, three gender-based violence cases, two kidnapping incidents, and three banditry-related attacks, as the Force intensifies efforts to combat violent crimes and criminal networks across the country.