The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has arrested seven suspected kidnappers in Kano State, recovered an AK-47 rifle and ₦730,500 suspected to be proceeds of kidnapping, while security operatives rescued an abducted victim in Zamfara State.
The operations were among the security successes recorded across several states on October 21 and 22, 2026, according to the police.
In Kano, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad arrested the seven suspects at Bawaje Forest in Bebeji Local Government Area.
The police said items recovered during the operation included an AK-47 rifle with breech number 9490, one magazine, 18 rounds of live ammunition, two motorcycles, 33 cows, 30 sheep and ₦730,500 suspected to be proceeds of kidnapping.
The police added that efforts were ongoing to track down the fleeing principal suspect and other members of the gang.
In a separate operation in Zamfara State, combined security teams rescued a kidnapped victim, Labaran Bawa, unhurt in Maguru Village, Kaura Namoda Local Government Area.
Bawa was subsequently reunited with his family, according to the police.
The security teams also engaged armed bandits in a gun battle at Ruwan Doruwa Village in Maru Local Government Area, during which one bandit was reportedly killed while others fled.
The police said efforts were continuing to rescue other abducted victims and apprehend the fleeing suspects.
Beyond the anti-kidnapping operations, the police reported the arrest of 12 suspected cultists in Kogi State and the recovery of three vehicles suspected to have been stolen in Lagos, where two suspects were arrested in connection with an alleged car theft syndicate.
Other operations in Delta, Imo, Ebonyi and Bayelsa states resulted in arrests and the recovery of locally fabricated firearms, ammunition and other suspected criminal exhibits.
The police said investigations into the cases were ongoing.
