Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command have arrested four suspected members of a criminal network linked to kidnapping and banditry activities around Abuja and neighbouring states.
The suspects, identified as Yahaya Abdullahi, Muhammed Yunusa, Hauwa Shafiu and Shamsudeen Mustapha, were apprehended during a security operation around the Paze Hills, a location bordering the FCT, Kaduna and Niger states.
According to the police, investigations revealed that the suspects were part of a coordinated network that allegedly provided support services to armed bandits and kidnappers operating within the region.
The command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, said the suspects confessed that the area served as a meeting point where criminal gangs planned attacks, shared intelligence and coordinated movements.
She disclosed that the group allegedly supplied food, drugs, medical assistance and other logistics to bandits hiding in nearby forests.
One of the suspects, Hauwa Shafiu, was reportedly serving as a cook and logistics supplier for the gang and their captives. Police said she was heavily pregnant at the time of her arrest and has since given birth while in custody.
In the words of the police:
“One of the suspects, Hauwa Shafiu, who functioned as a logistics supplier and cook for the criminal network and their captives, was pregnant at the time of arrest and has since delivered a healthy baby while in lawful custody, where she continues to receive adequate medical care alongside the newborn.”
Following the arrests, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, led another operation to the identified hideout, where makeshift camps and storage facilities allegedly used by the suspects were destroyed.
Police said investigations are ongoing as efforts continue to track down other members of the network and dismantle the wider criminal syndicate operating in the area.
