The police has arrested 247 crimes suspects and rescued 17 kidnap victims during operations across the state in the month of August 2026.
The Command also recovered an AK-47 rifle, 145 suspected rustled livestock, six motorcycles, a motor vehicle and 1,500 pieces of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, popularly known as “Yar Kwamaso”, among other exhibits.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the command, DSP 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, CP Ali Umar Fage, the PPRO said the Command intensified intelligence-led operations, inter-agency collaboration and sustained patrols to tackle kidnapping, banditry, cattle rustling, arms trafficking and other crimes.
“Within the period under review, the Command intensified its fight against all forms of crime and criminality, especially kidnapping, banditry, cattle rustling, and arms trafficking through intelligence-led operations, inter-agency collaboration, and sustained patrols across identified hotspots.”
He said the 247 suspects arrested comprised three suspected kidnappers, 15 suspected armed robbers, four suspected informants to armed bandits, 31 suspected drug peddlers 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.
DSP Sadiq said 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.
The PPRO said the recovered exhibits also included a sewing machine, recharge cards, 90 pieces of Exol-5 tablets, 141 Tramadol capsules, a bottle of blue spirit and a quantity of vandalised wire.
He explained that all the recovered exhibits remained in police custody and would be tendered before the court as evidence during prosecution.
The Command, he said, also sustained community-policing engagements to strengthen trust between security agencies and residents and improve the flow of actionable intelligence.
“To deny criminals freedom of action, the Command maintained heightened intelligence-led operations. Community-policing engagements were equally sustained across communities to enhance local trust and intelligence sharing,” Sadiq 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.”
The PPRO, however, said the Command was aware that more needed to be done to address insecurity in the state.
“While we acknowledge these gains, the Command is fully aware that more work remains to be done, and we are not resting on our laurels,” he said.
He commended the Katsina State Government, under Governor Dikko Umaru Radda, and the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, for their support to the Command.
The PPRO also appealed to residents to remain vigilant and provide timely and actionable information to the police through the Command’s dedicated hotlines.
He warned criminal elements to desist from acts of lawlessness, stressing that the police would continue to take necessary measures to protect lives and property across the state.
