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[REVISION HISTORY]

Nigeria-wide security raids and arrests

Updated 2 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-04 09:37 UTC → 2026-08-24 17:19 UTC · added removed

The anti‑crime, anti‑terror and anti‑cult drive that began in June 2024 kept expanding through 2025‑2026. In May 2026, army units raided suspected terrorist logistics sites in Sokoto, criminal hideouts in Edo and cult‑linked premises in Delta, arresting 24 people and seizing pistols, machetes, a locally fabricated pistol and hard‑drugs. A June 5 NSCDC operation in Badagry rescued 24 victims from an illegal detention camp and detained four foreign suspects linked to cross‑border kidnapping and extortion. The army’s 14 Brigade arrested three arms dealers in Abia on 7 June, while police sweeps in Kano and Yobe on 8 June netted 345 suspects and about 270 weapons. On 10 June police seized Beretta pistols, axes and charms in Osun and detained 225 suspects in Katsina for kidnapping, banditry and arms trafficking, rescuing 17 kidnapping victims. Joint DSS‑army raids in Enugu on 11 June uncovered a rocket launcher, multiple RPGs and up to eleven AK‑47s from an Eastern Security Network cache. Subsequent operations in Enugu, Oyo and Borno on 12 June recovered further AK‑47s, a general‑purpose machine gun and killed an ISWAP leader. June 13 saw NDLEA arrest a cocaine‑smuggling businessman and DSS intercept an arms courier carrying AK‑47s and RPG tubes. Throughout June, Kwara June and Ondo police arrested July, operations targeted cult members and paraded dozens of suspects, while wildlife‑crime members, arms networks, and smuggled oil seizures highlighted broader enforcement. kidnapping syndicates across various states. In late June, Akwa Ibom and Nasarawa police seized July 2026, Kwara State Police arrested 16 suspects during a toy AK‑47 stop‑and‑search operation and live ammunition; Akwa Ibom also investigated lynching cases. July brought arrests apprehended six members of cult‑linked kidnappers in Imo and Kwara, an army crackdown on an illegal arms network involving NSCDC and correctional officers, and killings a kidnap syndicate linked to the murder of suspected kidnappers in Ondo. Police‑DSS collaboration cattle owner Sulaiman Rilwan, whose body was formalised recovered from a well. In early August, police in July, and on 20 July Osun Oyo and Ondo units Lagos seized firearms during raids, while Yobe police detained a NURTW gunman man for livestock theft. Additionally, the Amotekun Corps rescued two abducted boys near the Ondo–Edo border. On 23 August, Ondo State Police arrested two suspects, Adamu Rabiu and Haruna Likita, in connection with an interstate robbery gang. August 1 kidnapping in Owo.

Versions

  1. 2026-08-24 17:19 UTC Nigeria-wide security raids and arrests
  2. 2026-08-04 09:37 UTC Nigeria-wide security raids and arrests
  3. 2026-07-31 22:35 UTC Nigeria-wide security raids and arrests

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