Troops Kill Three Suspected Kidnappers in Kaduna Raid Amid Festive Season Security Push

Troops deployed under Operation Enduring Peace have killed three suspected kidnappers during a coordinated assault on a criminal hideout in Bakin Kogi, Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Security analyst Zagazola Makama disclosed the incident on Friday, noting that the operation was carried out on December 11 as part of intensified efforts to dismantle kidnapping networks ahead of the festive season.

According to Makama, soldiers advancing toward the hideout came under heavy fire but overwhelmed the armed gang with what he described as “superior firepower,” forcing several suspects to flee.

“A sweep of the area later revealed the bodies of three suspected kidnappers who were neutralised during the exchange,” he wrote.

Security sources quoted in the report said the men belonged to a notorious syndicate responsible for multiple abductions and violent attacks on travellers along the Dangoma–Godogodo corridor in southern Kaduna.

Troops have since launched follow-up operations aimed at tracking the fleeing suspects and dismantling the group’s remaining operational cells.