Police Say 9 Kidnapped ASPs were Mistaken for Civilians by Bandits

Malik Yahya/

The Nigerian Police have announced that nine of its officers who were kidnapped along Katsina–Zamfara road were not targetted by their abductors.

Police Spokesman, DCP Frank Mba, disclosed this in a statement yesterday evening, while announcing that the officers had been “successfully rescued”.

“It is also important to state that preliminary investigation has shown that the attack on the vehicle was an opportunistic crime as the officers were all traveling in mufti, unarmed and alongside other private citizens in the commercial vehicle,” Mba said.

The police spokesman also said that the number of officers involved in the incident is nine and not 12 as previously reported in the media.

The statement further reads, “The Nigeria Police have successfully rescued nine police officers who earlier went missing on November 8, 2020, between Kankara town and Sheme in Katsina State after the night commercial bus they were traveling in came under attack by heavily armed men, all dressed in Military Camouflage but suspected to be bandits.

The officers, all Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs), were on their way to Gusau in Zamfara State from Maiduguri at the time of the incident.

“Two of the officers are currently receiving medical attention in a hospital, while the remaining seven are being debriefed.”

“Covert operation to locate and rescue the officers commenced immediately they were discovered missing en-route to their destination. Thus, the apparent delay in commenting on the unfortunate incident was a deliberate decision aimed at protecting the integrity and confidentiality of the rescue operation and the concomitant safety of the officers,” the statement adds.