Nasarawa State police have scored twin successes against crime, freeing a young woman held by kidnappers and rounding up a suspected robbery gang in separate actions.
Favour Innocent, from Ajyga Village, was snatched from her home late on the night of August 3.
Officers, working with local hunters and community youths, tracked her to Nunku Forest in Akwanga Local Government Area. They freed her early the next morning.
She received care at the Primary Health Centre in Andaha. Doctors treated her and discharged her in good condition. She is now back with her family.
“We moved fast once the information came in,” said Police Public Relations Officer SP Ramhan Nansel. “The teamwork with hunters and youths made the difference.”
Detectives are still hunting the remaining kidnappers who escaped.
Hours after that rescue, a new alert reached police headquarters. Armed men stormed a guest house at Area One in Masaka around 2 a.m. on September 4. They took phones, cash and other valuables from guests.
Commissioner of Police Shetima Jauro Mohammed ordered a patrol team to the scene at once.
The suspects fled when they saw the police vehicle. Officers chased them to their hideout and arrested eleven people, nine adults and two minors.
The adults in custody are Auwal Yunusa, 20; Saltsu Kabiru, 20; Umar Saleh, 22; Abubakar Hassan, 26; Musa Yahaya, 20; Seth Aaron, 20; Victor Hyelanpali, 19; Gift Ezra, 20; and Suleiman Abdullahi, 18. The juveniles are James Ayuba, 16, and Fahad Abubakar, 15.
Police recovered a locally made revolver, several cutlasses, knives, scissors, bedsheets, SIM cards, head warmers, fake foreign notes and original documents belonging to one Kabiru Abubakar.
The commissioner ordered the Masaka Divisional Police Officer to locate the minors’ parents or take them before a juvenile court.
The adult suspects have been moved to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Lafia for further investigation and possible charges.
“These operations show what focused intelligence and community help can achieve,” CP Mohammed said.
“We will keep the pressure on until the remaining suspects are caught and every stolen item is recovered.”
He praised the officers, hunters and youths who assisted in the forest rescue. The command renewed its pledge to use intelligence-led tactics and work closely with residents to cut crime.
Police are urging anyone with useful information to come forward quickly. Timely tips, they say, help stop attacks before they happen and bring offenders to justice.