Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested three suspected kidnappers who allegedly killed one of their victims after collecting N6.9 million ransom.
The Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed this in a statement issued on Monday.
Iringe-Koko identified the suspects as Hassan Mohammed (20) of Wandigah Town, Mandagali, Borno State; Bello Abubakar (25) of Roundabout Maura, Sokoto State; and Yusuf Ahmed (23) of Hazari LGA, Bauchi State.
She said the arrests followed an investigation into the abduction of Humphrey Wagbara of Igwuruta-Atali.
According to the PPRO, the suspects also kidnapped one Mercy Chinyere on September 12, 2025, at the same location, where they also collected a ransom of N3,500,000 before releasing her.
The statement read, “On 26th August, 2025, the Rivers State Police Command received a distressing report, suggesting the kidnapping of one Humphrey Wagbara, m of Igwuruta-Atali.
“Operatives of the Command attached to the Anti-Cultism Unit (ACU), Emohua Annexe, acting on this information and in a daring and coordinated operation on 19th September, 2025, at about 0200hrs arrested three suspects at different locations in Obio/Akpor and Ikwerre Local Government Areas of the State in connection with the kidnapping of the victim.”
Iringe-Koko said during interrogation, the suspects voluntarily confessed to their involvement in multiple kidnappings in the State.
Among their past kidnappings are those of Onwuli Jude and Nwabueze Nchekwube on September 24, 2025, at School Road, Igwuruta-Atali, where they collected a ransom of N6,900,000 before killing the victim.
“Exhibits recovered from the suspects include one G-3 rifle with Breech Number 10398, one magazine, one Itel phone belonging to Humphrey Wagbara, a kidnapped victim, three short daggers, one jack knife and one stainless short knife,” Rivers police imagemaker said.
Iringe-Koko added that the suspects and exhibits remain in police custody while detectives track other fleeing members of the syndicate and search for additional weapons.
PUNCH Online reports that the Command said it arrested a 48-year-old man, Emmanuel George, for allegedly defiling a 12-year-old girl (name withheld) in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
According to Iringe-Koko, George committed the offence on September 6, 2025, after luring the minor while she was sent on an errand by her aunt.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said on Sunday that barely five years after it recorded the first seizure of the deadly terror drug, Captagon, in Africa at the Apapa seaport in Lagos, operatives of the Agency have again intercepted a consignment of the amphetamine substance in Kwara state.
The agency said, “Captagon, a tiny, highly addictive pill, widely available across the Middle East, produces a euphoric intensity in users, allowing them to stay awake for days, making them fearless, and predisposing them to reckless action that puts the lives of people around them in jeopardy.
“Its production and sale are controlled by militias and large criminal groups linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as a means of generating funds for weapons and combatants, and for use as a stimulant to keep them fighting.
“The latest seizure of captagon, which street value costs as much as $25 a pill, was made on Tuesday, 21st April 2026, when NDLEA operatives on patrol along Bode Saadu road, Kwara state, intercepted a trailer conveying passengers.
“A search conducted on one of the passengers, 33-year-old Nasiru Mu’azu led to the recovery of 10 packs of captagon consisting of 10,000 pills and nine packets of Tapentadol 250mg.
In another interdiction operation at the Bode Saadu patrol point, NDLEA officers intercepted a trailer marked RMY-70XA on Friday, 24th April.
A search of the truck led to the recovery of 155,900 capsules of tramadol; 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injection; 3,000 tablets of Co- Codamol and 9,000 tablets of Bromazepam, concealed in a false compartment constructed under the trailer.
A 24-year-old suspect, Aminu Isah, has been taken into custody in connection with the seizure.
Also, NDLEA operatives in Oyo state on Tuesday, 21st April, intercepted a commercial bus with registration number MNA 963 ZY at Akinyele along the Ibadan/Oyo expressway, while en route to Sokoto.
A 33-year-old passenger, Eze Prince Emeka, was brought down from the vehicle and taken for a body scan, the results of which confirmed ingestion of an illicit drug.
The suspect who claims to be a businessman in Sokoto was subsequently placed under close excretion observation during which he excreted a total of forty-five (45) pellets of cocaine with a total weight of 1.043 kilograms in three excretions.
The decision to travel by road to Sokoto with the illicit drug in his stomach was to evade detection by NDLEA at the airport while further investigation reveals that upon arrival in Sokoto, the suspect was to excrete the pellets, rest for a few days, and subsequently re-ingest the substances to continue the journey through the trans-Saharan routes, with Algeria as a transit point and possible final destination in Europe.
In Edo state, NDLEA officers on patrol along Benin/Lagos expressway on Saturday, 25th April, intercepted a truck marked NLC 146 FC conveying 1, 196,000 pills of pharmaceutical opioids, among others.
Two suspects, Osagie Igbinibo, 43, and Omijie Malik, 44, were apprehended in connection with the seizure of consignments bound for Onitsha, Anambra State.
While a suspect, Rasheed Ibuowo, 40, was arrested at Mile 2 expressway in Lagos on Saturday, 25th April, conveying 810 kilograms of Arizona, a strain of cannabis, another suspect, Muktar Bello, 35, was nabbed by NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, 22nd April at Misau road, Azare/Katagun LGA, Bauchi state, with 288 blocks of skunk weighing 154.5kg.
In Ekiti state, a total of 466.8 kilograms of skunk were recovered from the house of a suspect, Layit John Matthew, 56, at Ilaro street, Isinbode-Ekiti, from where he planned to transport them to Yola, Adamawa state.
In Cross River state, 20,000 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance were destroyed on eight hectares of farmland in Uyanga community, Akamkpa LGA,
On Saturday, 25th April, NDLEA officers, supported by soldiers, raided a farmland in the Uyanga community and recovered 170kg of processed cannabis.
Three Hundred and Ninety-Four (394) pieces of IED components were seized from a suspect, Mohammed Aliyu, 26, by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Kontagora/Zuru road, Niger state, on Wednesday, 22nd April.
He was conveying the IED materials in a red Toyota car with registration number KNT 617 AE to Shadadi, Mariga LGA. The suspect and exhibit are to be transferred to the relevant security Agency for further investigation.
With the same zeal, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, work places, and communities, among others, in the past week.
These include: WADA enlightenment lecture for students and staff of Mallam Salisu Islamic School, Paiko, Niger state; Madarasatul Abdulrahman Bin Auf Litahafizul Quran, Durusul Islamiyah Badawa, Nasarawa LGA, Kano; Sani Zango Daura Model Primary School, Zango, Katsina; and members of community development associations, Badagry LGA Lagos while the Zonal Commander, Zone 4 Command of NDLEA, ACGN Bridget Viashiama led other senior officers of the Zone on a WADA advocacy visit to Nasarawa state governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, among others.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the officers and men of Kwara, Oyo, Edo, Cross River, Bauchi, Ekiti, Niger, and Lagos Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures,
He noted their drug supply reduction efforts balanced with WADA sensitization activities, while he charged them and their compatriots across the country to maintain the current tempo.
He commended the tactical precision of NDLEA operatives following the interception of 10,000 pills of Captagon in Kwara State, noting that the bust is a major blow to drug syndicates attempting to revive a pipeline that has been largely dormant since the landmark seizure at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos five years ago.
Marwa described the seizure as a wake-up call, noting that Captagon, a potent amphetamine often linked to insurgent groups for its ability to inhibit fear and fatigue, remains a target for traffickers looking to fuel insecurity.
“We are not just seizing pills; we are disrupting the fuel that powers violence in our communities. Our operatives remain on high alert across all frontiers to ensure this illicit trade finds no foothold”, he stated.
Troops of the Nigerian Army, in collaboration with members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), have arrested a suspected terrorist collaborator in Borno State.
Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspect, identified as Alhaji Kaka, 20, was apprehended at about 7:00 p.m. on April 25, 2026 during an operation around the Dumba general area.
The suspect, a Kanuri indigene from Baga town in Kukawa Local Government Area, was reportedly intercepted while attempting to transport a woman, Mrs Fatima Modu, 20, along with her infant, to a location believed to be under the control of Boko Haram terrorists.
Mrs Modu, also a Kanuri from Damboa Local Government Area, was rescued during the operation.
Items recovered from the suspect include two mobile phones of Itel and Henin brands, personal clothing, and female cosmetics.
The sources said the suspect is currently in military custody and undergoing further investigation to ascertain his level of involvement and possible links to terrorist networks.
Security authorities reiterated their commitment to sustaining ongoing operations aimed at dismantling terrorist logistics and support structures across the North-East.
The general security situation in the area remains calm, with troops maintaining heightened vigilance.
Joint security operatives in Qua’an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State have arrested two suspected kidnappers and recovered N8 million ransom paid by the family of a victim, just as they rescued an abducted woman from a forest hideout.
The Executive Chairman of Qua’an Pan Local Government Council, Hon. Dr. Christopher Audu Manship, confirmed the development on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in a statement signed by his media aide, Danaan Cletus Sylvanus.
The statement said the arrested suspects were identified as Waltu Watter and Sale Mamma.
According to the statement, they allegedly k!lled Alhaji Saidu Mamma during an operation and abducted his daughter, after which they demanded and collected N8 million ransom.
However, following a coordinated operation by joint security agencies in Qua’an Pan, the suspects were apprehended and the entire ransom recovered.
Speaking during the parade of the suspects and presentation of the recovered money, Manship declared zero tolerance for criminality in the area.
He commended the security agencies for their professionalism, diligence and gallantry in protecting lives and property.
“We will not allow criminals to operate in Qua’an Pan or use this local government as a hiding place after committing crimes in neighbouring councils or states,” he said.
The chairman ordered that the recovered N8 million be returned to the family of the late Alhaji Saidu Mamma, whose daughter was abducted during the attack that claimed his life.
In a related development, the joint security operatives also rescued Mrs. Gambo Bello and reunited her with her family.
Mrs. Bello was reportedly kidnapped in Padama, Lafia East Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, and taken to Pandam Game Reserve in Qua’an Pan.
Manship said intelligence reports on suspicious movement within the reserve prompted him to direct security personnel to comb the bush, leading to her rescue.
The statement added that, while narrating her ordeal, Bello said she spent over one week in captivity before security operatives stormed the kidnappers’ hideout.
According to her, there was an exchange of gunfire for several minutes before the kidnappers fled the scene.
“The security men came and exchanged gunfire with them. After some time, the kidnappers ran away and the operatives rescued me from the bush,” she said.
Manship said the latest operation marked the third time kidnappers had been arrested and ransom recovered in Qua’an Pan, aside from several other arrests recorded in the area.
He attributed the successes to divine intervention and the collaborative efforts of security agencies.
The council boss also expressed gratitude to Plateau State Governor, Barr. Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, for supporting efforts to strengthen the security architecture of the area.
He vowed to secure all border communities linking Qua’an Pan with neighbouring local governments and states to prevent criminal infiltration.
The statement added that those present during the briefing were security operatives saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and property in the area.
