At least 36 suspects had been arrested linked to banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling, drug trafficking and collaboration with criminal groups in a series of operations conducted across the state between May and July 2026.
The Sokoto State Police Commissioner, Hayatu Hassan Shaffa, who disclosed this on Thursday, added that eight kidnapped victims were rescued and 689 rustled domestic animals were recovered during the operations.
Shaffa said the police in the state had foiled several bandit attacks in Tangaza, Wamakko, Tureta, Bodinga and other local government areas, adding that police teams engaged the bandits in fierce gun battles during the operations.
He said eight kidnapped victims were rescued unhurt in different operations in Rabah and Binji Local Government Areas adding that several suspects were arrested for various offences, including a suspected bandit, three members of the Lakurawa group, three suspected kidnappers, two suspected bandit informants, four suspected cattle rustlers, an alleged collaborator and fuel supplier to Lakurawa terrorists, and two suspected drug traffickers.
The CP said a former employee was arrested for allegedly sending threatening WhatsApp messages to his former employer while posing as a bandit, adding that the suspect confessed during interrogation.
He said police operatives killed four suspected bandits in separate encounters in Bodinga and Daraye village in Wamakko Local Government Area and that
two AK-47 rifles, magazines and 53 rounds of live ammunition were recovered from the suspects.
Shaffa also announced that the command had dismantled motorcycle theft syndicates operating within Sokoto metropolis, leading to the arrest of 23 suspects and the recovery of 14 stolen motorcycles, all of which have been returned to their owners.
He said the police had impounded 105 vehicles operating without number plates or with concealed registration plates since the enforcement exercise began on June 16.
He said 96 offenders had already been prosecuted under relevant provisions of the National Road Traffic Regulations and the Road Traffic Act.
