Police arrest 12 suspects, rescue seven kidnap victims in Nasarawa The Nasarawa State Police Command has arrested 12 suspects and rescued seven kidnap victims in a series of security operations carried out across the state from January 1, 2026, to date. Commissioner of Police, Shetima Mohammed, disclosed this on Friday during a press briefing at the Command Headquarters in Lafia, where he highlighted the command’s achievements within the period. According to him, the suspects include 10 alleged kidnappers and two armed robbery suspects. He said police operatives also recovered five firearms, two magazines, two rounds of ammunition, one motorcycle, and ₦200,000 suspected to be proceeds of crime across the state’s 13 local government areas. Speaking on an operation in Awe Local Government Area, CP Mohammed said police neutralised a suspected kidnapper and rescued an abducted victim following actionable intelligence. He explained that on January 2, 2026, suspected kidnappers invaded the residence of a 43-year-old man in Giza town and abducted him to an unknown location. He said a manhunt was immediately launched, and on January 11, police received information that a man was tied to a tree in a forest along the Sabon Gida–Abuni axis of Awe LGA. Operatives from the Awe Division, working with local hunters, moved to the area where the suspects opened fire on sighting the team. “The operatives responded with superior firepower, neutralising one of the suspects and recovering an AK-47 rifle, one magazine, and two rounds of 7.62x39mm live ammunition,” the commissioner said. The abducted victim was rescued, debriefed, and reunited with his family. In a separate operation, CP Mohammed said two suspected kidnappers, Musa Ahmed (29) and Adamu Yusuf (28), were arrested on January 2, 2026, along the Nasarawa Eggon–Mada Station Road. He explained that police operatives on routine patrol mounted a snap checkpoint and intercepted the suspects, who were riding a motorcycle. During the arrest, the suspects allegedly attempted to bribe the officers with ₦200,000, which was rejected and recovered as evidence. Preliminary investigations, the commissioner added, revealed that the suspects were involved in the earlier kidnapping of a victim in Arusu Village, Kokona LGA. He said the victim had been rescued during an earlier police operation, although the suspects initially escaped with gunshot injuries. “One of the suspects was still nursing a gunshot wound at the time of arrest, and both have confessed to the crime,” CP Mohammed said. He assured residents of the state of the command’s continued commitment to combating crime and ensuring public safety.