By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Nigeria Police Force has arrested more than 161 suspects and rescued at least 95 kidnapped victims in nationwide operations conducted between July 27 and August 2, 2026.
The Force also recovered 27 firearms, including AK-47 rifles and pump-action guns, alongside 396 rounds of assorted live ammunition, five vehicles and several rustled cattle.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, disclosed this on Sunday at a news briefing at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
He said the operations targeted terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism and other violent crimes under the leadership of Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu.
In Sokoto State, police rescued 32 kidnapped victims during a gun battle with bandits at Maikujera Village in Rabah Local Government Area.
The victims comprised six adult males and 26 females, most of them children.
According to the police, the bandits abandoned the hostages and fled into the forest after security operatives engaged them with superior firepower and tactical manoeuvring.
The rescued victims were evacuated to a safe location and are receiving medical and psychological support ahead of reunification with their families.
In Rivers State, a joint team of police operatives and local vigilantes raided a hideout in the Kom-Kom/Afam Forest, arresting two suspects and rescuing four victims without payment of ransom.
Security forces also rescued a 45-year-old woman, Asadu Callista, near the Kogi boundary in Enugu State after neutralising one suspected kidnapper.
In Imo State, two victims were rescued in Owerri, with their vehicle also recovered.
In Kano, nine of 13 abducted bus passengers were rescued during a gun duel with their captors, while efforts are ongoing to rescue the remaining four.
The Force said eight hardened criminals were neutralised during decisive engagements, including two bandits in Benue State and one suspected kidnapper in Enugu.
In Katsina State, police also repelled an attack by a 100-man bandit reprisal force, inflicting casualties on the attackers.
However, one vigilante member was killed in Katsina and one personnel of a sister security agency lost his life in Plateau State.
The police also reported major arrests in Ekiti, Ondo and Oyo states.
In Ekiti, operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit busted an Indian hemp plantation and arrested five suspects.
In Ondo, two suspected kidnappers who allegedly hijacked a Lexus RX350 and demanded a ₦15 million ransom were arrested, while the vehicle and weapons were recovered.
In Oyo, police arrested a suspected kidnapper identified as Aruna Amidu, alias “Change”, who reportedly confessed to involvement in kidnapping.
The Force said the week also recorded several security incidents, including the fatal shooting of Reverend Father Samuel Opeyemi in Kogi State, the abduction of three female students in Nasarawa State and the killing of four residents by armed men in Niger State.
The police condemned mob justice in Jigawa State and the killing of four persons by bandits during the initial attack on Maikujera Village in Sokoto before security forces arrived.
The Force urged Nigerians to reject mob justice and provide credible intelligence to security agencies to support efforts to protect lives and property.
