Police arrest kidnap informant, rescue woman chained by brother in Abuja

By Stanley Onyekwere

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has busted a criminal network operating around the nation’s capital, resulting in the rescue of a severely abused woman and the arrest of several banditry suspects—including a heavily pregnant woman who has since given birth in police custody.
FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Sanusi, paraded the suspects on Monday, revealing that the breakthroughs were achieved through coordinated intelligence gathering and vital cooperation from FCT residents.
According to CP Sanusi, the criminal network had embedded themselves within local communities to gather intelligence, enabling them to coordinate repeated attacks and kidnappings on targeted individuals and locations.
Following an initial anti-kidnapping operation led by the CP on June 9, 2026, in the Paze–Byazhin area, a tactical follow-up raid was executed on June 11, 2026.
Police operatives stormed a suspected bandit hideout in the area, arresting four key suspects -Yahaya Abdullahi, Muhammed Yunusa,
Hauwa Shafiu, and Shamsudeen Mustapha.
One of the suspects, Hauwa Shafiu, served as the syndicate’s logistics supplier and cook, preparing meals for both the criminals and their hostages.
Shafiu was heavily pregnant at the time of her arrest and subsequently gave birth to a healthy baby while in police custody.
The Command noted that adequate medical care was provided to both mother and child.
Items recovered from the hideout included four motorcycles, tramadol tablets, N320,000 in cash, five mobile phones, a POS machine, and various cooking utensils.
In a separate harrowing case, police operatives from the Katampe Division acted on a distress call on June 12, 2026, rescuing a 36-year-old woman, Ms. Grace Aniekuoku.
Ms. Aniekuoku, an indigene of Anambra State, had been locked in a room and held captive in chains by her brother, Mr. Chinedu Aniekuoku, for one year and four months.
“The victim was discovered in chains, in an extremely emaciated condition and in her own waste under very poor sanitary conditions,” CP Sanusi stated.
The suspect violently resisted arrest but was eventually overpowered by officers.
The victim was immediately rushed to the hospital for urgent medical attention.
Preliminary investigations revealed a sinister motive behind the confinement: the suspect had allegedly abducted his sister’s son two years ago.
He locked his sister away in chains to prevent her from asking questions or raising an alarm about her missing child’s whereabouts.
The police boss assured the public that intense efforts are ongoing to locate and rescue the missing child, adding that the suspect will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.