POLICE IN NASARAWA DETAIN 26 ALLEGED KIDNAPPERS AND CULTISTS.

The arrest of 26 persons connected to a number of crimes, including kidnapping and cultism in the state, has been verified by the Nasarawa State Police Command.

Two victims who had recently been kidnapped by suspected kidnappers were also freed, according to state police public relations officer DSP Ramhan Nansel, who made the announcement in the state’s Lafia region.

Wednesday, Nansel stated of the accused, “Policemen stormed the kidnappers’ hideouts and arrested them while acting on credible intelligence.”

According to reliable intelligence, a squad of mobile police officers assigned to Operation Restore Peace attacked a kidnappers’ hideout on May 23, 2023, around 4 p.m. It was located in Ambaka village of Farin Ruwa Development Area in the Wamba LGA of the state.

The five kidnappers were identified as Sale Adamu, 34, Idi Halilu, 27, Abdul Sale, 20, Mallam Gambo, 48, and Goma Halilu, 20, all males from Ambaka village. They were able to free two kidnap victims who had been held prisoner for a while. The accused have admitted to carrying out a string of kidnappings in Ambaka village and its surroundings.

While praising the police officers assigned to the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit under the direction of SP Lapshak Lenka for their tireless efforts that resulted in the suspects’ capture and the victims’ rescue, Nansel noted that 13 of the suspects being paraded were detained in connection with cult-related activities, including intimidating and harassing locals in the state’s Karu LGA.

The following suspects were detained, according to him: Michael Felix, Gabriel Seth, Gideon Gambo, Michael Dauda, Sule Angel, Adingu Favor, Phillip Joseph, Adeboye Babatunde, Victor Abire, Patrick Joe, Ambrose Thankgod, Israel Joel, and Usman Jibrin. This raid was carried out recently, he added, “based on a tip-off, by police detectives attached to the Masaka Division.

One locally made pistol, three 9mm live rounds, two axes, and potentially harmful charms were found on them after a thorough search was conducted on them.

Adding that the suspects had been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department in Lafia for further investigation, Maiyaki Baba, the Commissioner of Police, had issued a warning to all criminal elements to leave the state without further delay, Nansel said.