The Nigeria Police Force has arrested a 58-year-old suspected supplier of motorcycles to bandits operating in Kaduna and Katsina states, alongside five other suspects linked to armed robbery, car snatching and violent attacks in Kaduna and Plateau states. The operations also led to the recovery of five pistols and other exhibits.
The operational successes were disclosed during a press briefing by the Commander of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Force Intelligence Department, DCP Adamu Saidu Muazu, who outlined the team’s efforts to dismantle criminal networks and combat kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery and other violent crimes across the country.
Muazu said operatives arrested Nura Umar, 20, of Kidandan, and Rabiu Aliyu, 58, of Zaria, Kaduna State, on August 29, 2026, over their involvement in kidnapping, banditry and terrorism-financing activities.
He said investigations revealed that the suspects specialised in supplying motorcycles to bandits operating in Kaduna and Katsina states. Both men reportedly confessed to supplying several motorcycles to the criminal groups.
A Honda CV-125 motorcycle without a registration number was recovered during the operation.
In a separate operation on October 12, 2026, operatives arrested Abdullahi Abubakar over his involvement in a syndicate linked to armed robbery and car snatching in Kaduna and its environs.
According to the police, the gang targeted commercial tricycle and motorcycle operators, strangling them before dispossessing them of their valuables.
Abubakar, who had previously served a 13-year prison sentence for a similar offence, reportedly identified a gang leader, Boniface, who is currently in Kaduna Correctional Centre.
The suspect subsequently led operatives to a location where the gang’s operational weapons were concealed. Following the execution of a search warrant, two pistols were recovered.
Further investigations linked the syndicate to several vehicle-snatching operations, with stolen vehicles sold to receivers in Kano, Kaduna and the Niger Republic.
Two receivers, identified as Yusuf Mohammed and Bala Ibrahim, were subsequently arrested.
While Mohammed received stolen vehicles and arranged their transportation to the Niger Republic through Sokoto State, Ibrahim specialised in receiving stolen motorcycles and commercial tricycles.
Another suspect, identified as Dahiru, who assisted in moving stolen vehicles across the border, remains at large.
In another operation, IRT operatives arrested three men in Jos, Plateau State, on November 2, 2026, over their involvement in armed robbery and kidnapping.
The suspects, identified as Benjamin Okafor, 38, Moses Akintuwi, 41, and Emmanuel Maikarfi, attacked a victim at gunpoint, dispossessing him of N200,000 and an unregistered 2015 Toyota Corolla.
The assailants also stole a laptop, three mobile phones and three Automated Teller Machine cards before withdrawing an additional N800,000 from the victim’s bank accounts.
Items recovered from the suspects included three locally fabricated pistols, one cartridge and the unregistered Toyota Corolla.
DCP Muazu said investigations were ongoing to apprehend other fleeing suspects, identify their accomplices and establish their involvement in other criminal activities.
He reaffirmed the IRT’s commitment to intelligence-led policing, noting that the team would continue to target perpetrators of violent crimes as well as individuals and networks providing them with financial and logistical support.
The police also urged members of the public to provide credible and timely information to security agencies to assist in preventing crime and addressing security threats across the country.
