The Niger State Police Command has arrested a 16-year-old boy and three other suspects over alleged drug-related offences, kidnapping and armed robbery in separate operations across the state.
The arrests were confirmed in a statement issued on Sunday by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Wasiu Abiodun.
According to the statement, the teenage suspect was apprehended at about 10:30pm on January 8, 2026, in the Kantoma area of Suleja, following reports that some hoodlums were operating in the neighbourhood.
Abiodun said information available to the command indicated that the suspects were seen smoking suspected cannabis in the area.
He added that operatives attached to ‘B’ Division, Suleja, were immediately mobilised to the scene, but the suspects fled on sighting the police.
“On sighting the police team, the hoodlums took to their heels, but one Usman Aliyu, 16, was arrested within the area with four cutlasses, one jackknife and six sachets of illicit tablets,” the statement quoted the police spokesperson as saying.
Abiodun disclosed that the suspect confessed during interrogation that he had been selling the drugs to different persons in the area.
He noted that the teenager had been charged to court after investigation.
In a related development, the command also announced the arrest of three suspects over alleged kidnapping activities in the state.
The police spokesperson said operatives of the Force Intelligence Department, Special Tactical Squad, arrested the suspects identified as Mamman Bello, 18; Ibrahim Adamu, 20; and Umar Abubakar, 25, on January 16, 2026, based on credible intelligence.
Abiodun stated that Bello and Adamu were arrested in Ilorin, Kwara State, following information that suspected kidnappers had relocated from Niger to a forest in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara.
He added that the suspects confessed to participating in several kidnapping operations in Niger State, noting that they were allegedly planning to abduct another victim before they were apprehended.
The statement further said Abubakar was arrested in Garatu for his alleged involvement in an armed robbery incident in Beji.
The police alleged that the suspect admitted to the crime and mentioned other members of the gang as Wode, Black, Moh’d and another person still at large.
Abiodun added that the suspects reportedly sold the stolen motorcycle for N600,000 at Tunga-Mallam and shared the proceeds, noting that efforts were ongoing to arrest other fleeing suspects.