Police Arrest Woman, Recover Guns, Cash in Kogi Criminal Hideout Raid
The Kogi State Police Command says it has arrested a 23-year-old woman, Charity Williams, during a raid on a suspected criminal hideout in Oguda village, Okene Local Government Area.
In a statement on Thursday, Police Public Relations Officer, SP William Aya, said the operation followed intelligence that led officers attached to the Okene Division to storm Yuwander Lodge, believed to be a safe haven for criminal activities.
“Upon searching one of the rooms which was booked by one Christopher Christopher Kadiri, a lady named Charity Williams aged 23 years was arrested and the above exhibits were recovered from the room,” Aya said.
Items recovered included a locally made Beretta pistol, a locally made barrel gun, six rounds of 9mm live ammunition, substances suspected to be hard drugs, an axe, four phones, and N2,047,300 in cash.
The police said the prime suspect, Kadiri, escaped before the raid, but assured that efforts were ongoing to track him down.
In a separate operation, officers from Ofu Division acting on intelligence reports combed Ogbakpedo village along the Itobe–Ayingba road.
The operatives recovered a locally made barrel gun, a cutlass, and a Tecno phone after suspected kidnappers abandoned them and fled into the bush.
The Commissioner of Police, Miller G. Dantawaye, commended the officers for their swift action, describing the breakthroughs as evidence of the command’s determination to rid Kogi of criminal gangs. Aya quoted him as reaffirming his “unwavering commitment to the fight against criminality in the state.”
Security experts note that the arrest of Williams reflects a worrying trend of women being drawn into criminal networks, often used to rent hideouts, move money, or divert suspicion from fugitives.
Kogi, which sits on a major transit corridor between northern and southern Nigeria, has faced persistent threats of kidnapping-for-ransom and armed robbery.
Police say ongoing raids on lodges and forest camps are crucial in dismantling the logistics support structures of such gangs.
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