By Odita Sunday
The Nigeria Police Force arrested 262 suspected criminals, rescued 27 kidnapped victims and recovered 34 firearms during operations conducted across the country between September 5 and 11, 2026.
The Force also recovered 375 rounds of live ammunition, 11 vehicles and neutralised 11 armed suspects in various intelligence-led operations during the period under review.
The Force said the operational successes were recorded under the strategic leadership of the 23rd Indigenous Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, as commands and tactical units sustained intelligence-led, proactive and community-collaborative policing across the country.
According to the weekly operational briefing, the arrests involved suspects linked to kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, banditry, cult-related activities, human trafficking, drug peddling, vandalism and other criminal offences.
The Force spokesperson said the country recorded 50 homicide incidents, 28 armed robbery incidents, 10 cultism incidents, eight gender-based violence incidents, 27 kidnapping incidents, 22 banditry incidents and five terrorism incidents during the week.
In Delta State, police operatives, working with local residents and forest guards, rescued 60-year-old Nduka Omoyi unharmed after a gun duel with his abductors at Alisime Village, Agbor.
The briefing said the operation, conducted on September 6 following geo-spatial intelligence, forced the abductors to flee into the bush with gunshot wounds. One mobile phone and an ATM card were recovered as exhibits.
In the Federal Capital Territory, detectives arrested a suspect following an armed invasion of a residence in Pegi, where hoodlums armed with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons allegedly raped the victim’s wife and stole valuables, including a gold necklace, ring and electric generator.
The suspect, according to the Force, is assisting investigators in efforts to identify and arrest the fleeing accomplices.
In Kwara State, a joint team of police operatives and local vigilantes arrested two men wanted for alleged kidnapping and banditry in Baruten Local Government Area.
The operation, conducted on September 6 based on intelligence, led to the recovery of ₦770,000, two smartphones, a locally made charm bulletproof vest and a power bank. The suspects were subsequently handed over temporarily to military authorities over their suspected involvement in a recent attack in Niger State.
In Nasarawa State, police operatives engaged armed robbery suspects who opened fire after abandoning a stolen motorcycle at a checkpoint in Uluji Village, Keana Local Government Area.
Two suspects were injured during the exchange of gunfire and a pump-action rifle was recovered, while a fourth suspect was separately arrested over his alleged involvement in the robbery.
The Force also recorded a major success in Sokoto State, where tactical teams foiled an impending bandit attack at Yadiya Village, Sokoto North Local Government Area.
Four bandits were neutralised during a gun duel and subsequent bush-combing, while an AK-47 rifle with a magazine containing 28 rounds of live ammunition was recovered. No security personnel or villagers were reported killed in the operation.
In Akwa Ibom State, marine operatives foiled a planned kidnapping operation along the Oron waterways after raiding a suspected kidnappers’ camp on the Calabar-Oron channel.
The suspects fled on sighting the operatives, who recovered a pump-action gun with live cartridges, two speedboats, three 200-horsepower outboard engines and one 15-horsepower outboard engine. Investigation is ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
In Kaduna State, police operatives working with vigilantes and local hunters raided the Auchanawa and Wambai bandit camps in Ikara Local Government Area.
Two suspects were neutralised and two kidnapped victims rescued, although three local hunters supporting the operation were fatally shot and another sustained a gunshot injury.
Katsina State Command also neutralised an armed bandit and rescued a kidnapped victim during an operation at Mararabar Dayawa Forest in Kafur Local Government Area.
The victim had been abducted from Gwarzo Local Government Area of Kano State, while two motorcycles belonging to the bandits were recovered.
In Gombe State, a joint clearance operation in Kowagel and Bojude, Dukku and Kwami Local Government Areas led to the arrest of a suspected kidnapper who allegedly confessed to involvement in a series of abductions in the area.
The Force said sustained pressure on the syndicate forced its members to abandon three kidnapped victims, who were subsequently rescued. A motorcycle and three phones were recovered.
Similarly, police operatives in Ebonyi State rescued a Methodist Church clergyman, Ndulo Amofia, after he was abducted in front of his church by two armed men.
The operatives trailed the abductors and closed in on them, forcing them to abandon the clergyman near Amofia. He was rescued unharmed and his vehicle recovered, while efforts continue to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
The Nigeria Police Force said the operational outcomes demonstrated the impact of its intelligence-led and community-collaborative policing approach under IGP Disu.
The Force assured Nigerians that operations would continue across the country to tackle threats to public safety and national security, while maintaining its commitment to institutional reform and the protection of citizens.
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