Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Jigawa State Police Command has arrested nine suspected members of a notorious motorcycle-snatching syndicate accused of killing nine people and stealing 33 motorcycles across Jigawa, Kano, and Kaduna states. The arrests, announced on Thursday, September 24, 2026, in Dutse by the command's Public Relations Officer, SP Shi'isu Adam, followed a swift investigation that began with a single stolen motorcycle in Aujara District, Jahun Local Government Area. What started as a routine theft case quickly expanded into the dismantling of a criminal network that had been operating with brutal efficiency across three states.
According to the police, the breakthrough came after one of the suspects attacked and snatched a motorcycle from an Okada rider in Aujara District. Following the incident, police operatives, in collaboration with local vigilantes, responded promptly, recovered the stolen motorcycle, and apprehended the suspect. That arrest, however, was only the beginning. During what the police described as a discreet and painstaking investigation, the suspect reportedly disclosed the existence of a wider syndicate operating across Kaduna, Kano, and Jigawa states. That disclosure led to the identification and apprehension of the other eight alleged members of the gang.
The suspects have been identified as Ado Saleh, also known as Datti, 55, of Kawari Village, Ajingi Local Government Area, Kano State; Abdullahi Saidu, 37, of Kwanar Dangora Village, Kano State; and Magaji Danladi of Auramo Quarters, Ringim Local Government Area. Others are Sabiu Miko of Kaugama Local Government Area, Habibu Dan Iya of Didi Village, Gagarawa Local Government Area, Shamsu Sani, 32, of Ajingi Local Government Area, Kano State, Ali Salisu, 40, of Yanbaru Settlement, Sule Tankarkar Local Government Area, Alhassan Isa, also known as Tata, of Shuwarin, Kiyawa Local Government Area, and Ado Ali of Baranda Village, Dutse Local Government Area. The suspects, the police said, hail from different communities across Jigawa and Kano states, underscoring the cross-border nature of their operations.
During interrogation, the suspects reportedly made chilling admissions. They disclosed their involvement in the snatching of no fewer than 33 motorcycles belonging to innocent members of the public in different locations across the three states. More disturbingly, they confessed to the killing of nine people in the course of their criminal activities. The police also revealed that the suspects admitted to carrying out violent attacks during which some victims were wounded and injured. The scale of the syndicate's operations, spanning three states and leaving a trail of death and injury, has sent shockwaves through communities that have long lived under the shadow of motorcycle theft and violent crime.
The Commissioner of Police, Jigawa State Command, CP Tijjani Murtala, commended the police personnel involved in the operation and the Good Samaritan whose timely intervention contributed to the recovery of the stolen motorcycle and the arrest that led to the wider breakthrough. He has directed the State Criminal Investigation Department in Dutse to sustain a discreet and professional investigation towards identifying other members of the syndicate, tracing and recovering additional stolen motorcycles, and establishing the circumstances surrounding the reported attacks and killings. The CP also vowed to ensure that all suspects found culpable are prosecuted in accordance with the law.
The arrest of the nine suspects marks a significant victory in the fight against motorcycle-snatching and violent crime in Nigeria's North-West. Motorcycle theft has become a lucrative criminal enterprise in the region, with syndicates targeting Okada riders who depend on their bikes for their livelihoods. The violence that often accompanies these thefts has left families grieving and communities living in fear. In this case, the suspects are alleged to have killed nine people simply for their motorcycles. The recovery of 33 stolen motorcycles, while significant, represents only a fraction of the vehicles that have been lost to such syndicates in recent years.
The police have assured the public that the investigation will continue, with a focus on recovering more stolen motorcycles and establishing the full circumstances surrounding the killings. For the families of the nine victims, the arrests may bring a measure of closure, but the pain of losing loved ones to such senseless violence will linger. For the communities across Jigawa, Kano, and Kaduna that have been terrorised by this syndicate, the operation offers hope that the police are finally taking the fight to the criminals. As the suspects face prosecution, the message is clear: the theft of a motorcycle may be a crime, but the taking of a life is a debt that must be paid in full before the law.
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