A fierce gun battle in a forest located around Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State has left a suspected bandit dead and a police officer wounded after tactical operatives intercepted a criminal gang operating along the volatile border area of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The deceased suspect, identified as Musbahu Ishak, was neutralized during the heavy exchange of gunfire, which underscores the ongoing violent friction between law enforcement and armed syndicates threatening the nation’s capital and surrounding areas.
FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Ahmed Mohammed Sanusi, announced the breakthrough during a weekend press briefing at the command headquarters in Abuja, where several suspects were paraded alongside a grim display of recovered weaponry from criminal gangs.
CP Sanusi disclosed that operatives successfully seized two AK-47 rifles from the gang’s underground hideout, delivering a significant blow to their firepower as security forces intensify their crackdown on border-area criminality.
According to him, during the investigation, the suspect led operatives of the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit to a hideout in Kagarko Forest where members of the syndicate allegedly concealed their firearms.
However, the police team was ambushed by suspected gang members while leaving the forest with the recovered weapons and the suspect in custody. In the process,t he attackers allegedly opened fire on the operatives in an attempt to rescue their gang member, resulting in a fierce gun battle.
The Police Commissioner said one police officer sustained gunshot injuries to the chest, while Ishak was also injured, adding: “They were both rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment, but unfortunately, Musbahu Ishak, the suspected kidnap syndicate member, was pronounced dead by the medical team. The injured officer, however, is responding to medical treatment.”
Gotcha! – Police Nab Two ‘One-Chance’ Operators
At the briefing, CP Sanusi also disclosed that operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Unit, Team III, arrested two suspected members of a ‘one-chance’ robbery syndicate operating within the nation’s capital.
He said acting on a direct order to crush an escalating wave of car snatchings, police operatives intercepted a getaway vehicle and arrested two suspected criminals following a dramatic late-night pursuit along the Goodluck Jonathan Expressway, disclosing that the dramatic takedown occurred at approximately 10:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 20, 2026, near the Court of Appeal Junction.
The Police boss said operatives on high-intensity patrol spotted a suspicious ash-coloured 2000 model Toyota Camry bearing registration number ABJ RSH 606 SG. However, on sighting the police team, the two occupants suddenly bolted from the vehicle in a desperate bid to escape. They ran out of luck and were promptly hunted down and taken into custody.
CP Sanusi said the suspects identified themselves as Okwudili Benjamin, a resident of Mami Road, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, and Chinedu Mbaka of Aso ‘B’, Nasarawa State, noting that Benjamin had previously been arrested by the Command for a similar offence in 2023.
While revealing that a search conducted on their vehicle led to the recovery of nine Android phones, pliers, a wheel lock and other exhibits, the Police Commissioner said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspects were allegedly responsible for several ‘one-chance’ robbery incidents within the city centre.
He added that further investigation revealed that the suspects were waiting for an accomplice on the night of their arrest before setting out to pick up unsuspecting members of the public, adding that some of the recovered exhibits had also been identified as belonging to previous victims.
CP Sanusi also stated that investigation led the police to an alleged receiver of victims and stolen items, identified as Osondu Benard, who was traced to NPC Junction, Nyanya, where he was picked-up by operatives and currently in custody.
He said all the suspects now in custody will face charges in court as soon as investigations are concluded.
