The Jigawa State Police Command has announced the arrest of four suspected kidnappers and a firearms manufacturer in a joint operation with local vigilante groups.

According to DSP Shiisu Adam, the command’s Public Relations Officer, the arrests occurred on November 16, 2023.

One of the suspects, Bashir Muhammed, aged 50, was apprehended in Yandutsen Kawari village, Ringim Local Government Area.

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Upon searching his residence, law enforcement recovered a pistol and two locally made rifles.

During interrogation, Muhammed confessed to manufacturing and selling firearms to unidentified individuals.

The suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Dutse for further investigation.

In another incident on November 17, 2023, a distress call was received regarding the kidnapping of a 63-year-old businessman, Alhaji Shehu Kwaimawa, in Kwaimawa village, Dutse LGA.

The police promptly responded, discovering that the kidnappers had fled with the victim. However, on the same day, the victim was released by the abductors at Baranda Forest in Dutse LGA.

Acting on a tip-off, a joint operation team comprising police officers, operatives from the State Intelligence Bureau, and members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria conducted a raid on the Rigija Fulani settlement in Hara Village, Dutse LGA, on November 18, 2023.

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The operation led to the recovery of 39 cows, four sheep, a broken butt of a rifle, one chain, and a Boxer motorcycle (registration number KMC 790 HJ Kano) believed to belong to the fleeing kidnappers.

The recovered items have been taken into custody for further investigation. Subsequent investigations at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Dutse identified three individuals—Samaila Adamu, Illiyasu Abdu, and Mamman Abdullahi—as being involved in the abduction of Alhaji Shehu Kwaimawa. Upon completion of the ongoing investigation, all suspects will be arraigned before the court.