Security operatives storm thick forest, rescue 7 kidnapped Abuja residents

A joint security operation involving the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the military has successfully rescued seven abducted residents who were snatched from a community in Abuja and taken into a forested area in Kaduna State.

In a statement released on Sunday, the spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, Josephine Adeh, confirmed the development. She explained that the rescue followed a high-risk, cross-border raid targeting a criminal hideout around the Ushafa axis in Bwari Area Council.

According to Adeh, the Command received an emergency report on December 5 alerting authorities that armed attackers had stormed a neighbourhood in Ushafa and abducted several residents. She said a joint security team—comprising operatives of the FCT Anti-Kidnapping Unit, the Nigerian Army, and the DSS—was deployed the following day to begin a concerted search-and-rescue mission.

“Following a distress call received by the Police on December 5, 2025, reporting that heavily armed kidnappers had invaded a community in Ushafa, Abuja, and whisked away several residents under the cover of darkness, a joint security task force made up of operatives from the FCT Anti-Kidnapping Unit, the Nigerian Army and the Department of State Services (DSS) swung into action on December 6, launching a coordinated manhunt for the abductors,” the statement read.

Guided by intelligence, Adeh said the team tracked the kidnappers’ trail through the outskirts of Mpape and onward into communities linking the Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The suspects reportedly opened fire when they sighted the advancing operatives, sparking a gun battle that forced the criminals to abandon one victim as they fled.

Adeh, a Superintendent of Police, explained that the security team pressed on for more than seven hours through rugged terrain “determined to dismantle the criminal network completely.”

The pursuit, she said, led operatives to the gang’s main camp deep within Kweri Forest in Kaduna State, where another exchange of gunfire weakened the kidnappers’ resistance and scattered them.

A sweep of the hideout resulted in the rescue of six more hostages, bringing the total number of freed captives to seven. The victims were taken to a medical facility and are reported to be in stable condition.

FCT Commissioner of Police, Miller Dantawaye, commended the joint team for their professionalism and bravery, and directed immediate reinforcement of security across identified vulnerable corridors to guard against further incursions.