‘247 suspects arrested in August’

The Katsina State Police Command has said it arrested no fewer than 247 suspects and rescued 17 kidnapped victims during operations conducted across the state in August 2026.

The command said it also recovered 145 suspected rustled livestock, six motorcycles, a vehicle, an AK-47 rifle, and 1,500 pieces of ready-to-use therapeutic food, popularly known as “Yar Kwamaso”, among other exhibits.

Police Public Relations Officer of the state, Abubakar Sadiq, disclosed this on Friday during a press conference at the Command Headquarters in Katsina, where he presented the Command’s operational achievements for the month under review.

Speaking on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Ali Fage, Sadiq said the command intensified intelligence-led operations, inter-agency collaboration and sustained patrols to tackle kidnapping, banditry, cattle rustling, arms trafficking and other crimes.

According to him, the 247 suspects arrested comprised three suspected kidnappers, 15 armed robbery suspects, four suspected informants to armed bandits, 31 drug peddlers suspects and 13 suspects linked to murder or culpable homicide.

He added that 20 suspects were arrested in connection with rape and sodomy, while 160 others were apprehended for various criminal offences.

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Sadiq stated 122 major criminal cases were reported and acted upon during the month, adding that 89 cases had already been charged to court for prosecution after preliminary investigations were concluded.

He further disclosed that 17 kidnapped victims were successfully rescued by the command’s operatives.

“The victims have since been debriefed, medically examined, and reunited with their respective families,” he said.

He attributed the successes recorded during the month to sustained collaboration with sister security agencies, particularly through joint operations, patrols and real-time intelligence sharing.

He stressed that the collaboration had “significantly improved our response time and operational effectiveness across Katsina State.”