The Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has announced that its officers conducted a raid on a kidnappers’ hideout within the capital territory, resulting in the apprehension of four individuals suspected of involvement in kidnapping.

The suspects who include two ex-convicts were identified as Yahaya Abubakar, Mohammed Mohamed, Umar Aliyu and Nura Abdullahi.

They were arrested at Gidan Dogo and Kweti forest in Kaduna State, bordering the FCT.

The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, who made this known in a statement on Sunday, said that the suspects had confessed to being members of a gang of bandits called ‘Mai One Million’.

She noted that the gang is responsible for a series of kidnapping incidents and other heinous crimes in FCT and its environs.

She explained that the rescued victims in a coordinated operation, which led to a shootout between the bandits and security operatives, had since been reunited with their families and loved ones.

The statement reads in part, “The operatives of the FCT Police command, in synergy with the special forces of guards brigade and DSS hunters, in a continued effort against criminality in FCT, on May 7, 2024, at about 10:00 am, acting on credible intelligence, stormed some identified kidnappers camps at Gidan Dogo and Kweti Forest, Kaduna State, bordering FCT, trailed and arrested four suspects: Yahaya Abubakar, 25 ‘m’ of Mpape, Mohammed Mohamed 32 ‘m’ of Zuba (an ex-convict), Umar Aliyu 20 and Nura Abdullahi 32 also an ex-convict at Kubwa and Zuba hills respectively.

“The suspects freely confessed to being members of a notorious bandit syndicate with the name ‘Mai One Million’, responsible for a series of kidnappings and other heinous crimes in FCT and its environs.

“The coordinated operation, occasioned a shootout between the bandits and the security operatives, forcing them to scamper to safety and victims rescued. The illegally erected structures by the kidnappers in all the patrolled camps, were all decimated.

“While the rescued victims have since been reunited with their families and loved ones, the commissioner of police, FCT, CP Benneth C. Igweh, psc, mni, lauded the effort of the security operatives in the fight against criminality in the Nation’s Capital.

“He further reiterates the command’s unflinching commitment to ensuring the security and safety of the residents of FCT. He therefore urges the residents to be vigilant and take advantage of the police emergency lines in reporting suspicious activities through: 08032003913, 08028940883, 08061581938, and 07057337653 PCB: 09022222352, CRU: 08107314192.”