Pregnant Woman Among Five Arrested as Police Bust Abuja Kidnap Logistics Network

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested five suspected members of a kidnapping and banditry syndicate, including a pregnant woman accused of providing food, logistics and operational support to criminals terrorising communities around Abuja.

The Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed this while parading the suspects in Abuja, describing the arrests as a major breakthrough in ongoing efforts to dismantle kidnapping networks operating on the fringes of the nation’s capital.

According to the police chief, the arrests were made following intelligence gathered from a security operation conducted in the Byazin area of the FCT on June 11, during which suspected kidnappers were engaged, some neutralised and victims rescued.

Sanusi identified one of the suspects as Hauwa Shafiu, who allegedly served as a cook and logistics supplier to members of the criminal gang and their hostages.

“As a follow-up to that operation, we stormed a suspected bandits’ hideout within the same area and arrested some suspects. One of them, Hauwa Shafiu, operates as a logistics supplier and cook for the criminal gang and their hostages,” he said.

The commissioner noted that Shafiu was heavily pregnant at the time of her arrest but allegedly remained actively involved in supporting the activities of the gang.

He disclosed that she later gave birth after being taken to a medical facility on police instruction and is currently receiving adequate medical attention.

“The baby is sound and safe. She too is sound. We have provided every medical need while she recuperates,” Sanusi stated.

Other suspects arrested in the operation were identified as Yahaya Abdullahi, Muhammed Yunusa and Shamsudeen Mustapha, among others.

Preliminary investigations, according to the police, revealed that the suspects had integrated into a community located close to the FCT boundary, enabling them to gather intelligence and coordinate attacks on residents and targeted locations.

“The group had infiltrated and integrated into a local community just about one kilometre away from the FCT itself, enabling them to gather intelligence and coordinate repeated attacks on targeted persons and locations,” the commissioner said.

Items recovered during the operation included four motorcycles, quantities of tramadol tablets, five mobile phones, a Point-of-Sale (POS) machine, cooking utensils and N320,000 suspected to be proceeds from kidnapping activities.

Sanusi revealed that one of the suspects confessed that the recovered cash represented his share of a N7 million ransom allegedly paid to secure the release of a kidnapping victim.

He further disclosed that another suspect admitted helping two bandits escape during the June 11 operation by providing them with a motorcycle.

Investigators also linked Mustapha to the supply of illicit drugs allegedly consumed by members of the criminal gang.

The commissioner warned that security agencies would continue to pursue other fleeing members of the syndicate and vowed that no safe haven would be allowed for criminal elements within and around the FCT.

He also announced plans by the police, in collaboration with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), to demolish buildings allegedly linked to the suspects as part of efforts to dismantle the network’s operational base.

“As they are looking for us, we are equally looking for them,” Sanusi said.

The arrests come amid intensified security operations across the FCT and neighbouring communities aimed at curbing kidnapping, banditry and other violent crimes threatening residents of the nation’s capital.