The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, has confirmed the arrest of 1,198 suspects for various offences bordering on homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms during anti-crime operations across the country.
The Nigeria Police Force recorded the arrests between June 9, 2026, and July 20, 2026, while the operations also led to the rescue of 166 kidnap victims and the recovery of 166 assorted firearms, 1,475 rounds of ammunition of various calibres and 47 stolen vehicles.
Disu disclosed the figures at the monthly conference with strategic senior officers of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja on Tuesday.
The IGP said the arrests involved suspects linked to murder and culpable homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, cult-related activities and unlawful possession of firearms. At the same time, police operations also recovered 166 assorted firearms, 1,475 rounds of ammunition of various calibres and 47 stolen vehicles.
“Since 9th June 2026, anti-crime operations across the Federation have led to the arrest of 1,198 suspects for various offences. That figure breaks down as follows: 151 suspects for murder and culpable homicide, 117 for armed robbery, 151 for kidnapping, and 104 suspected cultists. A further 169 persons were arrested for unlawful possession of firearms.
“Our operations also led to the rescue of 166 kidnap victims. We recovered 166 assorted firearms and 1,475 rounds of ammunition of various calibres, along with 47 stolen vehicles.”
Disu said the police and other security agencies must sustain the momentum and improve their response to Nigeria’s evolving security threats, including terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery, cult-related violence, cybercrime and other organised criminal activities.
He urged strategic commanders to strengthen intelligence gathering, surveillance and visibility policing while deepening collaboration with sister security agencies to tackle emerging threats.
The IGP directed every Commissioner of Police to develop a command-specific strategy based on the security realities of their respective states while aligning such strategies with national security objectives.
He also called for post-operation reviews to enable commanders to identify successful strategies, correct operational shortcomings and apply lessons learned to future deployments.
According to him, the effectiveness of police operations should not depend on the number of operations conducted but on the security outcomes they produce.
Disu said the successful rescue of abducted students and teachers in Oyo State demonstrated the results that security agencies could achieve through effective collaboration and intelligence sharing.
He noted that the Oyo rescue resulted from the joint efforts of the Nigeria Police Force, the Armed Forces of Nigeria, other security and intelligence agencies, as well as members of the public who provided timely and credible information.
He urged security personnel to treat the success as motivation to strengthen their resolve rather than a reason to become complacent.
“We cannot let a success like Oyo breed complacency. Every achievement should push us to improve further, not to relax.”
Disu also thanked members of the public whose information contributed to the successful rescue operation and urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities to the appropriate authorities.
He said stronger cooperation between security agencies and communities would make it more difficult for criminal elements to operate across the country.
“Together we can make it harder for criminal elements to operate.”
(The Whistler)