Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The call came at about 8 a.m. on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. A joint security team, led by the Divisional Police Officer of Dukku Division, had assembled at the edge of the Kowagel forest in Dukku Local Government Area. They were acting on credible intelligence about suspected criminal hideouts in the area and parts of Bojude in Kwami Local Government Area. The team was a broad coalition: personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, soldiers, operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, local vigilantes and hunters. They moved into the forest with a single objective: to locate and dismantle the camp of a kidnapping syndicate that had been terrorising communities across Dukku, Kwami and Funakaye for months. What they found was not just a hideout. It was a holding cell for three people who had been snatched from their homes and were waiting for their families to pay a ransom that might never have secured their release.
The operation proceeded as planned. The team arrested a 30-year-old man, Manu Alhaji Sani, a resident of Wawa Village in Funakaye Local Government Area. He was not a small-time operator. Preliminary investigation indicated that he had been involved in several kidnapping operations across the three local government areas, working with other members of a syndicate who are still at large. During interrogation, he confessed to his role in the abductions. His confession was the key that unlocked the rest of the operation. He told the police what they needed to know: where the camps were, who the other members were, and where the victims were being held.
The joint security team did not stop at the arrest. They intensified their search and clearance of the surrounding areas, mounting sustained pressure on the fleeing members of the syndicate. That pressure worked. The kidnappers, realising that their hideouts were no longer safe, abandoned their captives and fled deeper into the forest. The security operatives moved in and found the three victims: Hauwa Alhaji Sani, a 44-year-old woman; Aishatu Alhaji Sani, a 16-year-old girl; and Umaru Alhaji Sani, a two-year-old boy. They were all residents of Jonde Village in Dukku Local Government Area. They were alive. They were unharmed. They were free.
The police also recovered a Honda motorcycle with registration number BBB 29 UT and three keypad mobile phones from the scene. These are not just items in a recovery log. The motorcycle was likely the vehicle used to move the victims between locations or to transport the kidnappers during their operations. The mobile phones are potential troves of intelligence, containing contacts, messages, and call records that could lead the police to the other members of the syndicate who are still on the run. The Gombe State Police Command said efforts had been intensified to track down the fleeing members of the criminal network and dismantle the group entirely.
The rescue operation was not the only success recorded that day. In a separate operation, at about 9 a.m. on the same Tuesday, operatives attached to the Safer Highway Patrol, in collaboration with personnel of Operation Hattara stationed along the Liji-Biu Road, intercepted a blue Peugeot 406 with registration number YDB 48 FL. Acting on intelligence, the operatives arrested the driver, Mohammed Abdullahi, also known as Babangida, a 37-year-old resident of Bomala Quarters in Gombe. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 2,500 sachets of 100mg Tramadol capsules. The suspect and the recovered exhibits are in police custody as investigation continues. Tramadol is a controlled opioid that has become a drug of choice for many young Nigerians, and the sheer quantity recovered—2,500 sachets—indicates that this was not a small-scale operation. The suspect was allegedly a distributor, and his arrest has disrupted a supply chain that would have delivered addiction and misery to communities across the state.
The Gombe State Police Command commended the operatives involved in both operations for what it described as effective inter-agency collaboration, vigilance, courage, resilience and swift response to credible intelligence. The Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Ahmed Chuso, reaffirmed the command's determination to sustain intelligence-led and proactive operations against kidnapping, banditry, illicit drug trafficking and other criminal activities across the state. He appealed to members of the public to remain vigilant and provide credible information on suspicious activities to the nearest police formation or through the command's emergency contacts.
The rescue of Hauwa, Aishatu and Umaru is a story of survival that could have ended in tragedy. Kidnapping victims in Nigeria are often held for weeks or months, and many are killed when ransoms are not paid or when negotiations break down. The fact that these three were rescued alive, without any ransom being paid, is a testament to the value of intelligence-led policing and the importance of inter-agency cooperation. It is also a reminder that the fight against kidnapping and banditry is not hopeless. When security agencies work together and act on credible information, they can save lives and bring criminals to justice.
But the operation also highlights the scale of the challenge. The other members of the syndicate are still at large. The network that Manu Alhaji Sani was part of is not a single cell but a web of collaborators who operate across local government boundaries. They will regroup. They will find new hideouts. They will continue to target vulnerable communities. The arrest of one man and the rescue of three victims is a victory, but it is not the end of the war. The police have promised to intensify efforts to apprehend the fleeing suspects and dismantle the network. For the families of Hauwa, Aishatu and Umaru, the nightmare is over. For the security forces in Gombe, the work continues.
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