According to Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, in the past two months, Nigeria Police Force personnel have apprehended 1,774 criminal suspects for different offences, including murder, cultism, armed robbery, and kidnapping; recovered 2,583 rounds of ammunition and 274 different firearms; recovered 187 vehicles that were either stolen or unregistered; and rescued 476 kidnapped victims, some of whom were in extremely challenging terrain.
At the Strategic Managers Conference in Abuja today, the IGP made this statement, pointing out that the NPF operations have produced noteworthy results in various regions of the nation, highlighting our ability and resilience when adequately supported.
According to him, the Nigeria Police had success between April and May 2025, and these results highlight our interagency collaboration, operational agility, and community involvement efforts.
In Kaduna State, a coordinated special operation led to the dismantling of a major kidnapping syndicate operating in remote communities in Kaduna State. Over 30 suspects were apprehended, and several abducted victims rescued unharmed.
In Anambra and Imo States, targeted intelligence-led raids on insurgent cells resulted in the arrest of high-value suspects linked to recent attacks on police formations and other security posts. Recoveries included arms, IED-making materials, and stolen security assets.
In Lagos and Ogun States, the Anti-Cultism Units, working in synergy with local tactical teams, disrupted several cult initiation ceremonies, arrested over 100 cultists, and recovered dangerous weapons. This has significantly reduced inter-gang clashes in key urban hotspots.
A successful extradition of a Nigerian fugitive, Abubakar Aboki Muhammed, involved in a $307,500.00 fraud, by the INTERPOL NCB, from the United Arab Emirates on Friday, 23rd May 2025.
On the 5th of May 2025, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force successfully rescued 25 kidnapped Ivorian Nationals and arrested 8 members of a syndicate.
On May 14, 2025, Police operatives attached to the Enugu State Command, in collaboration with the Military and Neighbourhood Watch, rescued 21 kidnapped victims who had been abducted on May 10, 2025, along Iyionu-Aguibeje Road in Igbo-Eze North LGA by hooded armed men in Amaka-Okpodu community in Kogi State.
On May 1st, 2025, Nigeria Police operatives successfully tracked Peter Okoye, a prime suspect in the kidnapping of 2 Ghanaian women, to Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The suspect was apprehended along with members of his syndicate: Paulinus Chidokwe, 35, and Chinonso Okafor, 35, and the two Ghanaian women, Ms. Anastasia Arthur aka Baidoo and Amaseerwaa Konadu, who were victims of these abductors, were rescued in the process.
On April 17, 2025, vigilant police officers attached to the Anambra State Command, while on patrol, intercepted a shuttle bus parked suspiciously along the road, and upon conducting a thorough search of the bus, five pump-action guns, eight live cartridges, and two handcuffs were found concealed in a bag of rice.
In Imo State, operatives of the Force on April 17, 2025, stormed a suspected IPOB/ESN hideout on Cameron Street, Ubahu, in Okigwe LGA, and engaged the terrorists in a gun battle, neutralising 3 of them, and recovering one AK-47 rifle, two pump-action guns, eighteen live cartridges, mobile devices, laptops, and N10.3 million in cash suspected to be proceeds of kidnapping for ransom.
In Edo State, following the news of the abduction of 10 students who were on their way to Backcock University for the annual GYC Africa conference on the 16th of April 2025, police operatives of the State Command immediately picked up the trail of these kidnappers and engaged them in a gun duel. During the operation, one of the kidnappers was neutralised, and all the 10 victims rescued unhurt. Similarly, on the 18th of April 2025, the command operatives also successfully rescued 2 other kidnapped victims who had been kidnapped on the 14th of April 2025, from their residence in Oluoke community of the State.
In Kano State, on the 10th of April 2025, Police operatives attached to the State Command, arrested one Abdul Sadiq ‘m’ 43 yrs, Ahmad Muazu ‘m’ 22 yrs, and Aliyu Sharif ‘m’ 40 yrs at Dorayi babba, Kano State. Further investigation led to the recovery of 15 locally fabricated revolver rifles, 102 live cartridges, and 6 expended cartridges from the suspects.
Through these accomplishments, you have demonstrated that the Nigeria Police Force can produce outcomes when it is adequately supported and directed, IGP Egbetokun emphasised. These outcomes are admirable, but they are not the goal. They are simply markers that show we are headed in the correct direction, one that calls for a revitalised effort, more intelligent law enforcement, and a relentless hunt for criminal elements wherever they may be hiding.
