Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The nightmare began in October 2025 for a senior police officer and his son. Abducted from their home, they were held in the dense, forbidding Rijana Forest, a vast stretch of woodland that straddles Kaduna State and has become a favoured hideout for criminal gangs. Their captors demanded and collected a staggering twenty‑four million naira ransom. But the money did not bring freedom. The victims were not released. The officer's son would eventually be rescued, but his father, the senior police officer, remains in captivity to this day, a living testament to the callousness of a kidnapping syndicate that operated with impunity for nearly a year.
That syndicate was finally dismantled on April 3, 2026, when operatives of the Force Intelligence Department – Special Tactical Squad swooped on the criminals in a major intelligence‑led operation coordinated across several states. Six suspects were arrested in the sweeping crackdown: Yusuf Shuaibu, 23; Abubakar Bature, 19; Yau Murtala (age not specified); Bello Suleiman, 19; Abdul Kareem Nuhu, 36; and Ahmed Musa, 28. According to the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Anthony Placid, the suspects are believed to be core members of a well‑organised kidnapping network operating extensively within Kaduna State and its environs, with deep‑rooted links to criminal camps hidden in the Rijana Forest.
The breakthrough was announced on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, by DCP Placid, who detailed the horrifying scale of the syndicate's operations. He stated in a formal release: “The Nigeria Police Force, through the Force Intelligence Department–Special Tactical Squad, has recorded a major breakthrough with the arrest of six notorious kidnapping suspects and the rescue of victims in Kaduna State.” But the arrests did not come easily. The police had been tracking the group for months, linking them not only to the abduction of the police officer and his son but also to the kidnapping of a young child and members of a single family. In that separate incident, the family paid a staggering eighteen million naira ransom before the police were able to rescue them.
In total, the syndicate is alleged to have collected at least forty‑two million naira (₦42,000,000) in ransom payments, all while keeping their victims captive in torturous conditions. “Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects are members of a kidnapping syndicate operating within Kaduna State and its environs, with links to criminal camps located in Rijana Forest,” Placid said.
The arrest of the six suspects is the latest major victory in a broader, sustained offensive by the Kaduna State Police Command against kidnapping and other violent crimes. The command, under Commissioner of Police Rabiu Muhammad, has been conducting a series of intelligence‑driven operations across the state throughout 2026, yielding significant results. In March and April alone, the command arrested over 41 suspected kidnappers and armed robbers, rescued seven victims, and recovered 24 firearms, 200 rounds of live ammunition, and 50 rustled cows. These operations, which CP Muhammad attributed to “intelligence‑led policing, strategic operations and the commitment of officers and men,” have been crucial in dismantling kidnapping syndicates and disrupting their networks.
The coordinated crackdown has extended beyond the arrest of foot soldiers. The police have also apprehended key informants who aided bandits with information and logistics, and seized large caches of weapons transported to fuel the insurgency. In one instance, two suspected gunrunners were caught transporting 200 rounds of live ammunition concealed in a sack of guinea corn. A notorious drug dealer, Mohd Sani, also known as Shanuna, was arrested in Rigasa for his alleged involvement in drug dealing, phone snatching, and gang‑related crimes, illustrating the nexus between the illegal narcotics trade and organised kidnapping.
For the families of the victims held in Rijana Forest, the news of the arrests offered a flicker of hope. However, the desperate search for the still‑missing senior police officer continues. DCP Placid confirmed that “efforts are ongoing to rescue the officer,” and assured the public that the police would continue to hunt down the remaining members of the syndicate, rescue the remaining captives, and recover the group's weapons.
The achievement by the Special Tactical Squad was not an isolated event. In April 2026, the Kaduna State Police Command had already announced the arrest of 30 suspected kidnappers in a separate citywide crackdown, recovering firearms, stolen vehicles, and illicit drugs. That operation, which also led to the rescue of a seven‑year‑old boy kidnapped in Anchau, Kubau Local Government Area, saw the boy found unharmed in Maigana, Soba Local Government Area, after a swift rescue mission. CP Muhammad had noted at the time that the command's sustained intelligence‑led operations had “significantly disrupted criminal activities across the state.”
The rise of kidnapping as a major source of revenue for criminal gangs has coincided with a worsening security situation across Kaduna State. The state has, for years, ranked among Nigeria’s most volatile, with banditry, kidnapping and communal violence concentrated in flashpoints such as Birnin Gwari, Igabi and parts of Chikun Local Government Areas. The state government has recently inaugurated a Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) committee, headed by Governor Uba Sani, to provide a political framework for disarming and rehabilitating bandits.
As the sun set over the Rijana Forest on Tuesday, police patrols and searchlights continued to comb the dense undergrowth. The six suspects, now in police custody, are undergoing intensive interrogation and are expected to be charged to court upon the completion of investigations. DCP Placid reiterated the force's commitment to the fight, stating, “Investigations are ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate, rescue remaining victims, and recover the syndicate’s weapons.” For the families still waiting for the return of the senior police officer and other unnamed captives, the arrests are a long‑overdue step towards justice. But as the dark history of the Rijana Forest proves, the battle against kidnapping in Kaduna is far from over.
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