The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has neutralized eight suspected bandits in a recent operation. The Commissioner of Police for the FCT, CP Olatunji Disu, disclosed this while parading suspects at the command’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
He also confirmed the arrest of six individuals in the Kweri forest, located on the border between Kaduna and Gauraka in Niger/FCT.
According to CP Disu, the bandits were killed in a gunfight with police operatives, though some members of the gang managed to escape, sustaining gunshot wounds. The six individuals arrested at the scene were identified as Abdulrahman Giwa, Baba Hassan, Mohammed Dahiru, Abubakar Bature (also known as Dare), Abubakar Kadiri (referred to as Dayi), and Kabiru Ibrahim.
Disu further revealed that the apprehended suspects were part of a notorious kidnapping and banditry gang previously led by a now-deceased leader, who had been responsible for multiple kidnappings within the FCT, as well as the neighboring states of Niger and Kaduna.
“During the operation to raid the bandits’ strongholds in the Kweri and Gauraka forests, Mallam and eight other suspects were neutralized after a fierce gun battle,” CP Disu stated.
Two officers from the anti-kidnapping unit sustained gunshot wounds during the operation and are currently receiving medical care.
The police commissioner also mentioned that intelligence reports indicated the kidnappers kept their victims in several locations, including Gidan Dogo Forest in Kaduna, Gauraka Forest in Niger, Kweri Forest, and Kachia Forest in Kaduna.
