Kaduna bandits’ kingpin arrested after 11 years
A 34-year-old suspected bandit kingpin, Mati Bagio, has been arrested by the Kaduna State Police Command.
Bagio, a resident of Unguwan Galadima in Shika District, Giwa Local Government Area of the state, had been on the wanted list for 11 years, according to the police.
He was said to have led a criminal gang that terrorised communities across Kaduna and Katsina states for years.
The State Polic ande Public Relations Officer, Mansir Hassan, in a statement on Friday, announced Bagio’s arrest, disclosing that three suspected motorcycle thieves were also apprehended.
Hassan said Bagio was arrested at his residence in Kaduna in the early hours of Friday.
The PPRO said the suspect had been on the police wanted list for 11 years for alleged involvement in multiple attacks in Giwa, Hunkuyi, Faskari, Dandume, and Funtua Local Government Areas of Kaduna and Katsina states.
He disclosed that the police recovered a cache of sophisticated firearms, ammunition, a stolen Toyota Prado SUV, and two motorcycles during recent operations.
The statement read, “On 18th July, 2025, at about 0530 hours, acting on credible intelligence, a team of detectives led by the Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, CSP Sani Zuntu, successfully tracked and arrested a notorious gang leader popularly known as Mati Bagio, a 34-year-old male of Unguwan Galadima in Shika District, Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
“The suspect is a notorious bandit leader who terrorised Kaduna and Katsina states along Giwa, Hunkuyi, Faskari, Dandume, and Funtua Local Government Areas. He had been on the run for the past 11 years. He was just apprehended at his residence, where a significant cache of arms and ammunition was recovered.
“Items recovered from the suspect include one AK-47 rifle; one fabricated AK-47 rifle; one pump-action gun; two English pistols; two AK-47 magazines; two LAR rifle magazines; four fabricated AK-47 butts; four AK-47 live ammunition rounds; 10 pump-action cartridges; 87 rounds of pistol ammunition; one machete; two torchlights; and one unjamming rod.”
