By Deborah Nnamdi
Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command have neutralized a notorious bandit leader, Abdullahi Umar, popularly known as Duna, along with his lieutenants, Buba Ahmadi (Killer) and Habi Sule (Mai-Kudi), during a clearance operation in Abuja.
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ajao S. Adewale, disclosed this while briefing journalists at the Command Headquarters on Friday.
According to him, the development followed a series of coordinated attacks by the gang in parts of the FCT. On September 15, 2025, armed hoodlums invaded Kpobi and Kpaduma 3 villages in the Guzape area, during which two vigilantes sustained gunshot injuries. One of them, identified as Bako Pwaza, later died at the National Hospital, Abuja.
The attackers also attempted to abduct two young women but were thwarted by a rapid response team led by senior police officers. The victims were successfully rescued.
Two days later, on September 17, the same gang struck again in Karu, abducting one Nafiu Idris, a staff of the FCTA Department of Urban Affairs.
CP Adewale explained that in response, the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit, in collaboration with the Guards Brigade of the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services (DSS), hunters, and vigilantes, launched a clearance operation.
The breakthrough came on September 18, when operatives stormed the bandits’ hideout in Zinda Forest, behind the Nigerian Army Estate in Kurudu, near the Nasarawa border. A fierce gun battle ensued, leaving the wanted leader Duna and his lieutenants Killer and Mai-Kudi dead.
Recovered items included two AK-49 rifles, two magazines loaded with seven rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, two Itel handsets, ATM cards, and other valuables.
The CP noted that preliminary investigations linked Duna to several high-profile kidnappings in Karu, Guzape, Kpobi, Army Estate Kurudu, and parts of Nasarawa State.
