The Federal Capital Territory police command says it has rescued a kidnap victim after a 30-minute gun battle with armed men in the Guzape area of Abuja.
Commissioner of Police Ajao Adewale told reporters in Abuja on Friday that the rescue formed part of raids carried out between September 15 and 18. He described the operation as “a life-threatening battle” that lasted half an hour.
Two vigilante members were injured during the September 15 attack, and one later died at the National Hospital in Abuja. According to Adewale, the kidnappers had also attempted to abduct two young women but were stopped through a coordinated response led by senior officers, including the deputy commissioner in charge of operations and the Rapid Response Squad commander.
The commissioner said the same group of attackers struck again on September 17 at Karu, where a staff member of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Nafiu Idris, was kidnapped. “Acting swiftly, the command Anti-Kidnapping Unit, in synergy with the Guards Brigade of the Nigerian Army, DSS operatives, hunters, and vigilantes, launched a clearance operation,” he explained.
By the following morning, security forces traced the gang’s hideout to Zinda Forest, near the Nigerian Army Estate in Kurudu, on the border with Nasarawa State. “The gang engaged our operatives in a fierce gun battle, but our team overpowered them and three of the notorious criminals were neutralised,” Adewale said.
Investigations revealed the gang leader was behind several kidnappings across Guzape, Karu, Kpobi, Kurudu, Army Estate and parts of Nasarawa. Adewale added that their planned abduction of a resident in Federal Housing Estate, Karu, was foiled on September 18.
Recovered from the group were two AK-49 rifles, two magazines loaded with seven rounds of ammunition, two mobile phones, ATM cards, lighters, charms, animal horns and N10,000 in cash.
The commissioner also disclosed progress in the command’s anti-narcotics campaign, saying 11 suspected dealers were arrested in raids across drug black spots in the territory. Authorities seized 68 bags of cannabis and other substances. Adewale said the arrests would “disrupt criminal supply chains, reduce drug-fueled crimes, and keep harmful substances away from communities.”
