The Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has arrested suspected suppliers of motorcycles to bandits operating in Kaduna State, apprehended suspected armed robbers and recovered five firearms in separate intelligence-led operations across Kaduna and Plateau states.

The IRT Commander, Adamu Muazu, who disclosed this on Friday while parading suspects in Abuja, said the operations also exposed a suspected criminal network involved in kidnapping, banditry, terrorist financing, one-chance robbery and the trafficking of stolen vehicles across state and international borders.

Muazu said two suspects, Nura Umar of Kidandan and Alhaji Rabiu Aliyu of Zaria, Kaduna State, were arrested on August 29, 2026, over alleged involvement in kidnapping, banditry and terrorist financing.

He said investigations revealed that Aliyu allegedly specialised in supplying motorcycles to bandits operating within Kaduna and neighbouring areas, while Umar served as his dispatcher, personally delivering the motorcycles to criminal elements in their hideouts.

“The old man who is seated there among the suspects has been into this activity for quite some time. During analysis of his phones, we found that he was in contact with many of these bandits.

“He has been supplying motorcycles to them. The young man by his side is his dispatcher. The bandits trust the two of them. The young man normally delivers the motorcycles in person to the bandits in the bush,” he said.

Police recovered one Honda CV 125 motorcycle without a registration number from the suspects.

In another operation, the police arrested a suspected one-chance car snatcher and armed robber, Abdullahi Abubakar, who allegedly terrorised Kaduna and its environs.

Muazu said police arrested the suspect on October 12, 2026, at about 8:30 pm, following credible human and technical intelligence.

He said Abubakar, who had previously served a 13-year jail term for a similar offence, allegedly specialised in strangling victims before dispossessing them of their valuables.

According to him, the suspect, during interrogation, identified a gang leader, Boniface, who was already in Kaduna Correctional Centre, as the person who directed him to the gang’s hideout where their operational firearms were kept.

The commander said the police obtained a reproduction warrant and recovered two pistols from the location.

He added that investigations revealed that the gang had allegedly stolen several vehicles in Kaduna and neighbouring areas before selling them through receivers in Kano, Kaduna and Niger Republic.

Muazu, however, expressed concern that Boniface allegedly continued coordinating criminal activities from prison.

“One of the astonishing aspects of this case is the involvement of Boniface. Boniface is in prison and has been communicating with this syndicate and telling them what to do.

“Through the procurement of a reproduction warrant, we were able to trace where those pistols they had been using were located and recovered,” he said.

The IRT commander said Boniface was subsequently taken into police custody alongside the other suspects, adding that investigations were ongoing to establish the full extent of the alleged criminal network.

In a third operation, three suspected armed robbers and kidnappers were arrested in Jos, Plateau State, with three locally fabricated pistols and other exhibits recovered.

The suspects, Benjamin Okafor, Moses Akintuyi and Emmanuel Megarfi, were apprehended on November 2, 2026, at about 3:30 pm by IRT operatives on special duty in the state.

Muazu said the suspects allegedly attacked a victim at gunpoint, dispossessed him of N200,000 cash and made away with his unregistered 2015 Toyota Corolla.

They also allegedly stole a laptop, three mobile phones and three ATM cards before withdrawing N800,000 from the victim’s bank account.

Items recovered from the suspects included three fabricated pistols, one cartridge and the unregistered Toyota Corolla.

The commander disclosed that one of the suspects was a neighbour of the victim who allegedly joined other residents in sympathising with him shortly after the robbery.

He said intelligence-led investigations eventually exposed the suspect’s alleged involvement in the crime.

“One of the suspects happened to be a neighbour of the victim. After the incident, he was among the first to appear to sympathise with the victim. Unfortunately, through intelligence-led policing, he was caught,” Muazu said.

The suspect reportedly claimed that he ventured into crime after losing money invested in mining activities following the destruction of property in his vehicle.

Muazu said the three suspects were still being interrogated to establish their possible links to other kidnapping incidents, identify their collaborators and determine the sources and intended uses of the recovered firearms.

He said investigations were also ongoing to arrest other members of the suspected criminal networks.

The IRT commander said the operations formed part of the Inspector-General of Police’s sustained intelligence-led strategy to identify, disrupt and dismantle criminal networks involved in kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery, terrorism-related activities and other violent crimes. (The Nation)