Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory, Ahmed Sanusi, has disclosed how a police officer was ambushed and shot by gang members attempting to free one of their members arrested during a raid on Kagarko forest, revealing that the officer is recovering from his injuries and that two AK-47 rifles were recovered during the operation.
Sanusi, who addressed journalists on Saturday during a press briefing at the Command Headquarters in Abuja, explained that the officer was shot on the right arm during the ambush on August 16, 2026. The commissioner said the officer was shot by gang members in an attempt to rescue their member, particularly one Mushahu Ishak, who was arrested during a raid of Kagarko forest. “The officer who was shot on the right arm of his chest during an ambush is recovering,” Sanusi said.
The attempted rescue operation underscores the extent to which criminal gangs operating in the forests around the Federal Capital Territory are prepared to confront security forces to protect their networks. Kagarko forest, which straddles Kaduna and Niger states and lies within striking distance of the FCT, has been identified by security agencies as a major hideout for bandits and kidnappers operating in the region. The arrest of Mushahu Ishak during the raid was evidently significant enough to prompt his associates to mount a violent ambush aimed at securing his release.
The commissioner disclosed that two AK-47 rifles were recovered during the operation, adding to the cache of weapons seized from criminal elements in the territory in recent weeks. The recovery of high-calibre weapons from gangs operating in and around the FCT has been a recurring feature of police operations, reflecting the scale of the arsenal available to criminal networks in the region.
The incident forms part of a broader pattern of violent confrontations between security forces and criminal gangs in the FCT and its surrounding forests. In July 2026, the FCT Police Command raided a bandit hideout in Dajin Madam Forest, located between Plateau and Bauchi states, following intelligence provided by Mushahu Ishaq, one of four suspects arrested for supplying arms, ammunition and illicit substances to bandits. That follow-up operation led to the recovery of two FN FAL rifles and live ammunition, with investigations revealing that Ishaq obtained arms from one Rabiu Hassan and supplied them to Baba Alhaji Sanusi, a suspected bandit kingpin believed to be hiding in a forest in Katsina State. The same network appears to be connected to the officer's ambush.
Sanusi also used the briefing to provide updates on other criminal cases the command had investigated. He said suspects linked to a lifeless body discovered on the Kubwa Expressway by Katampe had been identified, including a married woman, Mrs Rukayat Muhammed of Garki Area 2, who further investigation revealed was in a romantic relationship with the deceased and had saved his contact on her mobile phone under the name Safiyat. “Investigations also revealed that the suspect and the deceased had lodged at Good Samaritan guest house, 2nd Avenue Gwarimpa, where they spent some time together,” Sanusi said. “The suspect informed us that she discovered the deceased was no longer breathing and had died. Rather than immediately reporting the incident to the police, the suspect took the deceased’s mobile phone and left the hotel.” He said several hours later, after attempts by the hotel management to establish contact with the occupants of the room proved unsuccessful, access was gained into the room where the lifeless body was discovered. The commissioner alleged that two members of the hotel management, identified as Ibrahim Omeiza and Kefas Bitrus, removed the body from the room and transported it to Kubwa Expressway by Katampe under the bridge, where they dumped it by the roadside, apparently in an attempt to distance the hotel from the incident.
The commissioner also announced the arrest of a one-chance robbery syndicate, including Okwudili Benjamin, aged 41, who resides on Mami Road, Maraba, Nasarawa State, and Chinedu Mbaka, aged 37, a resident of Aso B, Nasarawa State. “Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects are responsible for several ‘one chance’ robbery incidents within the city centre,” Sanusi said. “Investigations further revealed that on the night of their arrest, the suspects were waiting for an accomplice before setting out to pick up unsuspecting members of the public.” He said the recovered exhibits had been identified as belonging to several previous victims, and that investigations had been expanded to trace their usual receiver, identified as Osondu Bernard, to NNPC Junction, Nyanya, where he was also arrested. All suspects are in custody and will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations, the commissioner said.
The police command also paraded suspects who allegedly stabbed and robbed innocent people in the territory. The briefing followed a series of high-profile operations by the FCT Police Command in September 2026. On September 20, the command announced the arrest of over 300 suspects during a major raid on crime flashpoints across the territory, with Sanusi saying the suspects were taken into custody for screening. On September 15, the command detained 40 suspects following a viral video of an alleged robbery at Maitama, with the commissioner ordering an immediate raid of identified criminal flashpoints around Unity Fountain and its environs. On September 16, the command arrested 70 suspects over the same robbery video.
The commissioner’s disclosures come amid heightened concern over security in the FCT, a territory that has experienced a series of high-profile criminal incidents in 2026, including kidnapping, armed robbery and the murder of a retired Colonel, Abdussalam A. Ude, in July. The command has responded with a sustained campaign of raids, arrests and intelligence-led operations, recovering weapons and disrupting criminal networks. The ambush on the police officer and the subsequent recovery of two AK-47 rifles illustrate both the dangers that officers face in the line of duty and the determination of criminal gangs to resist the command’s operations. For Sanusi, the message from Saturday’s briefing was one of sustained pressure on criminal elements. For the officer recovering from his injuries, the incident is a reminder of the risks that accompany the badge, and of the thin line between the safety of the public and the violence that security personnel confront daily.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments