Niger Police Intensify Crackdown, Nab 139 Suspects Across Suleja

The Niger State Police Command has arrested 139 suspects and prosecuted 64 alleged miscreants following a crackdown on unlawful assembly, violent activities and criminal hideouts in Suleja and other parts of the state.

The operation, which commenced on August 4, 2026, was ordered by the Commissioner of Police, CP Adamu Abdullahi Elleman, following a violent rally in Suleja where suspected miscreants were reportedly seen carrying dangerous weapons and attacking and robbing members of the public.
The Command deployed its Violent Crimes Response Unit (VCRU), led by CSP Hassan Gimba, to Suleja. Acting on actionable intelligence, the operatives conducted sting operations at identified criminal blackspots in Madalla, Kwata, Bakin-Ruwa, Dikko, Kaduna Road, Sabon-Wuse, Gwazunu and Chaza.
According to the police, 139 suspects were arrested during the operations. Following screening and investigation, 64 of them were identified as alleged miscreants.
The suspects were reportedly found with large quantities of suspected cannabis, dangerous weapons, scissors, knives, cutlasses and four live cartridges.
The 64 suspects were subsequently arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Court in Suleja on charges bordering on criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, aiding and abetting, harbouring suspected criminals, giving information to miscreants, causing disappearance of evidence, mischief and possession of dangerous weapons. They were remanded in a correctional centre.
In a separate operation conducted on August 11, police surveillance operatives attached to Tudun-Wada Division raided suspected criminal blackspots around Talakawa and Tunga Minna.
Three suspects—Ashiru Sirajo, 19; Aminu Mahmud, 17; and Dadi Suleiman, 14—were arrested, while police recovered a long flexible cutlass, two clubs and a shovel from their residence.
The operation was extended to Sauka-Kahuta, where Jibrin Muhammad, 18, was arrested for allegedly possessing two sharp daggers, an ice bunker, six lighters and suspected cannabis.
Police also disclosed that operatives of Maitumbi Division, working with local vigilantes, arrested four suspected thugs during a raid on criminal hideouts on August 9.
The suspects, identified as Buhari Aliyu, 25; Shaabal Muhammed, 20; Mubarak Ahmad, 24; and Saifullah Muhammad, 21, were allegedly found with illicit substances and shisha pots. Police said investigation was ongoing and that they would be charged to court after its completion.
The Command further arrested two men, Abraham Ashiwel and Michael Okonkwo, for alleged impersonation of military personnel, assault and disturbance of public peace.
The suspects were arrested after allegedly storming a laundry shop in Angwan-Gwari, Suleja, dressed in military attire and assaulting an attendant over an alleged missing phone.
Police said the suspects confessed during interrogation to impersonating military personnel in the community after being expelled from the Nigerian Military School, Zaria, in 2016 and 2019 respectively.
Items recovered from them included military camouflage uniforms, combat T-shirts, desert boots, identity cards and two jackknives.
They are being held for further investigation and are expected to be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).
The Command also reported the arrest of Ahmed Sani, 31, of Ang-Baushe, for allegedly receiving three mobile phones stolen from two students of the Federal University of Technology, Bosso.
The students had reportedly left the phones on their motorcycle while writing examinations on August 6 and discovered that the devices were missing after their examinations.
Following technical intelligence, Sani was traced and arrested in Maitumbi. Police said he confessed to receiving the stolen phones and claimed to have sent them to Kano for sale.
The three phones were subsequently recovered on August 12, while the suspect was arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Court for prosecution.
The Police Command also disclosed the arrest of Musa Usman, popularly known as Musa Kaura, 30, and Jamilu Yahaya, 30, over alleged thuggery and disturbance of public peace.
The suspects were arrested on July 25 after a police patrol team encountered a group of thugs engaged in a violent clash at Tsohon-Gurusu, Maitumbi.
Police said Musa Kaura’s index finger was cut off by Jamilu Yahaya during the altercation.
During interrogation, the suspects allegedly confessed to involvement in illegal mining activities, with the clash reportedly arising from a disagreement over proceeds from their activities.
The Command added that Musa Kaura had previously featured in a viral video involving thuggery and was already on the police wanted list.
The two suspects remain in custody as investigation continues.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said the Command would continue to intensify operations against criminal elements and maintain law and order across Niger State.